Pokemon: Destiny Revealed
by Benajah Davis
Summary: Done with his first adventure, Lucas unexpectedly finds his missing father - but at a cost he couldn't imagine. Now, he must find the strength to stand up to the man who indirectly ruined Lucas' family, and ultimately avenge his mother's death. In this second installment of the Pokemon: Destiny series, prepare for epic battles, storms, and an unforgettable journey!


Pokémon

Destiny Revealed

Book two of three in the _Pokémon: Destiny_ series

A Fiction Novel by: Benajah C. M. Davis

Franchise Copyright ©2020 Pokémon ©1995-2020 Nintendo/Creatures Inc./GAME FREAK Inc.

Book Copyright ©2020 Benajah C.M. Davis

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form on by an electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author.

This is a work of fanfiction. All material here, except for the author's ideas, characters, events, and plot, belong to the Pokémon Company, Nintendo/Creatures Inc, and GAME FREAK Inc. This includes the franchise copyright owner's names, events, ideas, and plot. Names, characters, places, and incidents created by the author either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Contents

Chapter 1: Sunrise…...pg. 4

Chapter 2: Giovanni…pg. 6

Chapter 3: Silver….pg. 9

Chapter 4: City Boy…pg. 12

Chapter 5: Viridian City….pg. 14

Chapter 6: Father and Son…..pg. 17

Chapter 7: Revelations of Disgust…..pg. 18

Chapter 8: The Challenge…..pg. 21

Chapter 9: Surprise, Surprise….pg. 25

Chapter 10: Torn Apart…..pg. 27

Chapter 11: Don't Leave Me….pg. 30

Chapter 12: Survival…..pg. 35

Chapter 13: The Roses…..pg. 38

Chapter 14: Jessie and James…pg. 41

Chapter 15: Off to the Desert…pg. 47

Chapter 16: The Storm….pg. 51

Chapter 17: A Strange Encounter….pg. 57

Chapter 18: Dust…pg. 61

Chapter 19: Three Days, Pt. I…pg. 68

Chapter 20: Three Days, Pt. II…..pg. 74

Chapter 21: Old, Gone Friends….pg. 78

Chapter 22: The Final Battle…pg. 83

Chapter 23: Farewell, Old Life…pg. 88

Chapter 24: Beneath the Stars….pg. 91

Epilogue: I Won't Leave….pg. 94

Reference Table for Pokémon Mentioned…..pg. 97

Chapter 1: Sunrise

Lucas woke up to the sun shining brightly in his eyes through the trees. He was laying on the belly of his best friend, Charizard; they both must have shifted in the night to this position. One arm was draped over the dragon's side, and the other was underneath Lucas' cheek. His legs were loosely hanging down near Charizard's tail, warmed by the vibrant flame at the end. One of Charizard's clawed hands was wrapped around Lucas's waist, despite the positioning.

He squinted – the morning sun was always brighter to him than the evening sun, and it bothered him greatly. Gently, he slid off of his friend's stomach, careful not to wake him. He slowly walked over to a small clearing, tip-toing as quietly as he could. On the way, he glanced at Lugia, Jack, and Lily, all asleep. Mew was close to the now-extinguished fire, hovering in the air, eyes closed peacefully.

The clearing near the campsite was very large. They were on a small hill, barely high enough see the tops of the trees. Lucas never really got to take a closer look at the landscape, so it shocked him.

The sunrise was vibrant, filling the sky with a large array of colors. Even though it was February now, the trees were blossoming and the air was warm. In the distance, he saw flying silhouettes of bird Pokémon that he couldn't make out. Sunbeams shot up the sky through the purplish, relatively thin clouds, encompassing the nearby moon in a soft beam of light.

Lucas sat down in the grass with a smile on his face, thinking of how he had accomplished his mission of finding Mew. He was still surprised that the mythical Pokémon wanted to travel with him and ultimately be caught.

He heard a rustling behind him, and slowly turned around. Charizard was standing there, smiling at him. He walked over and sat down next to Lucas without a word. Lucas rested his head on Charizard's shoulder, grinning ear to ear.

"Man, look at that sunrise," Charizard said after a moment.

"Yeah… remember the other hill, at sunset? That was pretty, too," Lucas said.

Charizard nodded his head, still smiling. Both of them just sat there until the others woke up.

They were alerted by hearing Lugia yawn, stepping out of the water, and shaking himself off. Jack and Lily groggily stood up, noticing Charizard and Lucas in the clearing, and waving. Lucas would have gotten up to get breakfast, but he wasn't hungry.

"Are you two going to get something to eat, or what?" Lily said in a joking manner.

Lucas replied with a smirk, "Well, I had a late dinner, so I'm fine. What about you, pal?"

Charizard simply said, "Nah, I'm good. Thanks, though."

Still looking off into the sunrise, Charizard said, "It's crazy, isn't it? Everything that's happened? Seems like a lifetime, but it's only been about two weeks."

Lucas nodded, mulling that thought over in his head.

"I feel like I've known you my whole life, you know?" the dragon said in a pensive voice.

This made Lucas feel warm inside. Looking into Charizard's eyes, he beamed with soft eyes and a wide smile.

Chapter 2: Giovanni

Inside of the Viridian City gym, a strange man clad in a formal suit sat in an overly-large chair. He had combed, black hair, with beady black eyes and thin eyebrows. His name was Giovanni, leader of the Viridian City gym. This particular gym was for ground-type Pokémon.

Giovanni was also the leader of Team Rocket, unknown to the public. Team Rocket was a vile organization that stole powerful Pokémon, giving them to Giovanni to add to his collection and perform genetic experiments on. His assistants were mostly scientists, working in a locked laboratory on genetics, however he had two people who did almost all of the dirty work – Jessie and James.

He stroked his Persian, who was lying beside his chair sleeping. Persian was the evolution of Meowth, and was a very agile cat Pokémon with large whiskers and strong hind legs for jumping.

He had sent Jessie and James on a mission to capture an unlikely Pokémon: a Salamence. Salamence was a dragon-type Pokémon, the final evolution of Bagon, and could fly through the air with grace. It was blue, with a white underbelly and red, crescent wings.

The hidden back entrance of the gym flew open, and his two henchmen stumbled into the opening.

"Boss, we got him!" James shouted triumphantly, with Jessie grinning beside him.

"Excellent," Giovanni said menacingly. He walked over to the sedated beast who was being wheeled in on a large cart, still awake but very tired. Giovanni stared at the beast, who in turn looked back with a face of confusion. "You have a new home, Salamence. With me." The gym leader pressed a pokéball to the Salamence's forehead. The Pokémon disappeared inside of it, and with too little strength to attempt breaking free, let the ball click shut.

Giovanni smiled with a look of pure evil, even though he was not going to hurt the creature. Instead, he was going to use the Pokémon for other purposes that were not quite clear at the time.

He opened up one side of his suit coat, clipping the pokéball to his coat sash. Then, he sat back down and continued to think.

"Jessie, James… outstanding work. You will each be payed heavily by the end of the week. Thank you both. You are dismissed for now," he said, to which his cronies replied with "Thank you," and left.

Giovanni started thinking about his family. He wondered how his wife and son were doing. He thought about how he had gotten into a massive fight with his wife, and he left out of anger. She had crushed Lucas' dreams and he didn't want to be a part of it. But he also had a job to do as the leader of Team Rocket, and that was the main reason he left. Nothing would stand in his way.

He had many regrets, however. He missed his wife, and missed playing with his son. Once or twice, he had thought about going home, but he had work here to do. He couldn't let his personal feelings get in the way.

Giovanni thought about his other son, Silver, who left many years prior to Lucas' birth at age eighteen. Silver and Lucas had never met, and although they knew each other by name, they had no connection. He often wondered how Silver was doing out in the world, and if he was becoming a great Pokémon trainer like he had wanted to.

His thoughts were disrupted by a ringing coming from his office. He stood up, walked over to his small, lightly decorated office space and picked up the phone.

Giovanni smiled wickedly as he heard that his scientists had achieved a breakthrough in their research in Pokémon genetics.

_One step closer_, he thought to himself, dismissing all thoughts of his family for now.

Chapter 3: Silver

Lucas, Jack, Lily, and Charizard were walking down a set of abandoned railroad tracks. They were laughing, joking around, and balancing on the track's beams when they came to an old shack.

"What's this?" Lucas asked.

The shack was obviously very old. The paint had almost completely worn off, and what was left of it showed the gang it used to be white. It was relatively tall, around twenty or so feet, with a set of stairs wrapping around the exterior to a small room surrounded by windows. Underneath the stairs was another doorway.

The gang walked over to it with curious expressions. They opened up the bottom door to a metallic scent. Inside, they found various spare parts for trains such as wheels, couplers, and gears. Climbing up the stairs, they found a small office with a rotted-out computer, and the space was overgrown with vegetation. One of the windows was smashed, and the others were covered in dust and debris.

"I know what this place is," Jack spoke up. "This is a railroad control station. It's basically a station along the tracks that carries supplies, and alerts trains coming the other way to divert to a new track to avoid collisions. In fact…" he trailed off, looking at the ground and finding a manual, opening it and reading it, "It says here that this is a substation for a lesser-traveled railroad leading to the Johto Region, just west of Kanto. Guess it was abandoned from under-use."

"Cool! Is there any loot in here?" Lily asked with excitement.

"Probably not. Unless you want that PC over there," Jack responded with a chuckle.

Lucas looked at the dust on the windows, making out letters. He pieced together what they said: _Silver wuz here XD! _As soon as he read it, his mind halted. Jack and Lily both stared at Lucas, and Mew popped out of his Great Ball after sensing Lucas' thoughts.

"Silver…" Lucas trailed off.

"Silver? Who's Silver?" Lily asked.

Mew could already sense Lucas' thoughts, putting a paw-like hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, uh… right. I never told you about Silver," Lucas responded, almost stuttering.

"Who is he?" Jack implored.

"Silver was my brother. I never met him, though. He left to become a trainer when he was eighteen, and that was three or four years before I was even born. We only know each other by mere existence, and that's about it... in fact, before my house fire, my mother finally told me his name. I don't even know what he looks like," he said.

"Man, I don't even know how old he is now…" Lucas thought. In his head, he took his age of thirteen, added four, and then added another eighteen. He then said, with confidence, "I think he's actually thirty-five or something like that. Jeez."

"Wow. That's insane! And you never met him?" Lily said.

"Nope. Not once. One day I want to, though," Lucas responded with a slight grin on his face. "Looks like he passed through here. I've seen his handwriting, and this fits the bill… must not have been recent, seeing as the writing is almost covered in dust again."

He looked at Mew, who stared back at him. Mew smiled warmly, giving Lucas confidence that he'd find his brother one day. Lucas smiled back, and with that, Mew disappeared into his pokéball.

"Hmm…I didn't know that Pokémon could re-enter pokéballs at will, too," Lucas said with awe. "I guess I have a lot to learn."

The trio left the station, seeing Charizard waiting outside. Lucas told him what they found and about Silver, and Charizard seemed very amazed. After a few minutes, they continued along the tracks, leaving the control station behind them to rot as it was before.

Chapter 4: City Boy

As the gang walked down the tracks, they saw various large signs for a place called Viridian City. Lucas remembered Viridian City by its gym, which gave out the Earth Badge to those who could defeat the gym's leader. For some reason, he was never able to remember who the leader of this gym was.

The signs stated that Viridian City was only four miles north of their current position, so he turned to the gang.

"Hey guys, why don't we go to the city to pick up some supplies for the road? I'm pretty sure we could all agree that we need some more food," Lucas said.

"Now that I think of it… yeah, we do need more food. And water, too. Good idea, Lucas," Lily said while rummaging through her duffel bag.

"The sign said it was four miles away, so we should get there within an hour or two," Jack chimed in.

"Alright!" Lucas said, excited.

A few hours later, they came across another sign. This one read: "Viridian City – 1 mile. Viridian City Gym – 1.15 miles."

"We're getting close, guys!" Jack exclaimed.

Charizard and Lucas looked at one another. They were both thinking the same thing, and they each knew it. However, they couldn't risk telling the others of their plan. So instead, the two friends smirked and nodded at each other.

For a few minutes, nothing was spoken. However, Lily broke the silence, asking "So, Lucas, did you ever live in the city?"

Lucas responded with a chuckle. "No… I never wanted to. I lived on the outskirts of Kanto my whole life. I love seeing the stars at night, and city lights aren't my thing, you know? It's funny, though. People always see me living in the city for some reason. I guess I just look like a city boy."

"Well, those other people are right. You do look like you could blend into a cityscape," Charizard laughed.

Grinning, Lucas replied "Oh, brother…" and also started laughing.

Chapter 5: Viridian City

The entrance to Viridian City was very obnoxious, as it was adorned with lights, signs, statues, and other items. However, as soon as the travelers left the other end of the gate, they realized why it was so decorated: The whole city was one gigantic light show, and it was still daytime.

Hydrogen, Helium, Neon, Argon, Xenon, and Krypton-colored signs were in front of almost every shop, stall, and building. Large digital banners lined the tall skyscrapers, taking up space in the sky displaying advertisements for various types of pokéballs, Pokédexes, berries, and potions. In the center of the City Square was a larger-than-normal sign, displaying directions to food courts, hotels, and the city's gym.

Lucas made his way through the crowd of people, careful to hide his pokéballs. He definitely did not want anybody getting their hands on his Pokémon, knowing that they'd probably be lost forever if they were stolen. He glanced at the sign and read the ones below it about the Viridian City Gym.

"So, the gym leader here is a man named Giovanni. Cool! Maybe he can give me some tips," Lucas said pensively with a smile.

"You're not going to battle him? Why not?" Jack implored.

Lucas responded with a sarcastic smirk, saying, "Yeah, because I'm _definitely_ experienced enough to battle a gym leader."

The gang laughed for a moment, and then continued walking. The streets were packed with people, and shuffling past them was quite difficult. Once the group made it to a clearing, they decided on their next move.

"Okay," Lucas said, "Lily, you go search for food and water in the food courts. Jack, how about you grab us some more toiletries and whatnot? Charizard and I will look for anything else we could also use, and then we can visit the gym. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan to me," Lily said, nodding. "I say we meet up here at eleven o'clock. That way we can beat rush hour and have plenty of time to horse around."

"Got it!" the others chimed in.

ʘ

Lucas, Jack, Lily, and Charizard all met back up an hour or two later, fully stocked and ready for their journey to continue. They started walking over towards the gym.

The Viridian City Gym was large. It was made of a reddish-brown brick, with a thick, curved, silver metal roof and large glass doors. Lucas noticed that they were on the outskirts of the city, and the forest was not two hundred meters away.

With Lucas in the center of their group and Charizard behind him, they stood in front of the doors. With a deep breath, Lucas pushed the doors in and entered the gym.

The gym was even larger on the inside than it looked. It was more of a stadium than a gym, to be frank. Stands for onlookers were lining the arena's battleground, and lights were shining a magnificent white color throughout the building. At the head of the gym's arena sat a man with a black suit, black hair, and black eyes.

"Hello, trainers!" the man boomed in a strong voice. "Welcome to the Viridian City Gym!"

"Hello, sir!" Lucas said, warmed by the welcoming tone of the gym leader.

"I am Giovanni, leader of this gym, and I give out Earth Badges. I specialize in ground-type Pokémon. What may I help you with today, my friends? A battle?" the man asked.

"Actually, no, um… I was actually looking for someone with a lot of experience to give me some tips on being a great Pokémon trainer, if you don't mind. Just some advice, you know?" Lucas said.

"Oh, why of course! How long have you been traveling?" Giovanni implored.

"About two weeks, give or take a few days." Lucas said, chuckling.

"Only two weeks! And you have a Charizard? How?"

"I can explain everything, don't worry. I'm Lucas, by the way... Lucas Parker. This is Lily, and this is Jack," Lucas pointed to Lily and Jack respectively. "Nice to meet you, sir…sir?"

Lucas was looking Giovanni dead in the eyes, who was just staring right back at him incredulously.

"Wha…What did you say your name was?" he asked.

"Lucas Parker… why?" Lucas responded.

"Lucas? Is it… is it really you? After all this time? I knew you looked like him, but…"

"What do you mean? Wait… oh my god… I…" Lucas stuttered with his words. "Dad?"

"Son…" he replied.

Chapter 6: Father and Son

Tears started to well up in Lucas' eyes. He was standing in front of the man who he grew up playing in fields with, who taught him everything about the world.

"Dad… is it really you?" Lucas said.

"Yes, Lucas! It's me! Yes!" Giovanni replied.

"Dad!"

"Son!"

They flew into each other's open arms, both starting to cry tears of joy. After three years, they had finally reunited. Charizard stood right behind Lucas, tears streaming down his cheeks and a smile on his face.

"Dad, it's been so long… why did you leave?" Lucas asked through the tears.

"I'll explain everything…I promise," Giovanni replied.

Arms wrapped around each other, Giovanni led Lucas and the others into his office and closed the door, with Jack and Lily looking at each other with an expression of amazement.

Chapter 7: Revelations of Disgust

Giovanni told Lucas why he left, as promised:

"When I lost the fight with your mother, I felt broken. Silver had failed us as a child, and I was scared that he would never amount to anything other than a basic trainer. He simply was too… angry, I'll put it. I wanted you to be different. I didn't want to see you come out the same way, and I didn't want to say that I was a part of your being a failure. I guess, for some reason, I thought that it would be my fault for you not accomplishing your dream.

"So, I left. I decided to avenge you by becoming a trainer myself, and befriended a ground-type Pokémon not long after. I participated in many tournaments, building myself up to becoming a Pokémon Master, and eventually becoming a gym leader here in Viridian City.

"Not a single day goes by that I don't think of you and your mother, I swear. But know that I didn't leave out of anger… I left because I loved you and didn't want to see your heart crushed."

As Giovanni finished, Lucas started to weep silently, eyes squeezed shut, and a false grin on his face to try to restrain the tears. All this time, Lucas thought that his father had left out of anger and hatred, but in reality, it was because of his love for Lucas.

Giovanni reached across his small desk, laying a hand on Lucas' shoulder. Charizard did the same thing, weeping happily for Lucas.

After a moment, Lucas regained his composure. "It's time I tell you everything…dad. About two weeks ago, the house burnt down. I lost everything, but Charizard here saved me."

"Oh my god! What about Elise? Is she okay?" Giovanni asked with scared eyes.

Lucas silently shook his head. "She's dead. I tried saving her, but it was too late."

"No… no, no, no, no…" Giovanni said over and over again. "You… you left her? You left her! You freaking left Elise to save yourself?!"

"No, dad, that's not what happened! I swear! I tried saving her. She was in the shower, and her door was locked. She couldn't hear me screaming for her! I tried to break down the door, but it wouldn't budge. I had to get myself out, though…" Lucas explained.

"No! You left her, you sick child! I tried to raise you differently than that."

"Dad, I'm sorry! I tried my hardest to get her out!"

"You could have done more!"

"No, I couldn't have! I was more devastated than you!"

"Guys, stop!" Jack cried. "Giovanni, I know that Lucas tried to save her. If you've been through half of the things Lucas has been through since the events of that night, you'd understand."

"You know what, Jack? Shut up. I say a good battle will settle this. Father to son, eh?! Come on!" the man shouted angrily.

Reluctantly, Lucas agreed. Then, a loud bang vibrated about the gym. Two people barged in, and Lucas immediately recognized them.

Jessie and James, from Team Rocket.

"Boss! Boss!" they shouted," The scientists just made a MAJOR breakthrough in the genetics department! You need to- oh, are we interrupting something?"

"Dad? You're the… no. No! You're the leader of Team Rocket! How could you?!" Lucas shouted. "You didn't leave because you loved me, you left to found Team Rocket!"

Jessie and James immediately recognized who Lucas was, and backed away as they remembered their encounter with Charizard.

"Clever, Lucas… very clever indeed. And now you know just how powerful I am," Giovanni grinned wickedly.

Suddenly, Lucas was filled with an undying rage at his father. Not only had he abandoned them, but he also created a vile organization based solely on his own selfishness. Lucas crossed his eyes, and simply said "Let's battle."

Chapter 8: The Challenge

After hours of preparing, Lucas stepped back inside the Viridian City Gym. Jack and Lily had decided to watch from the stands; however, Lucas had no clue where they were. He was greeted by a screaming, chanting crowd when he stepped inside. The stands were filled to the brim – each side of the arena floor must have had at least 200 people. Camera lights were flashing in his direction. He realized with a jolt that this was no ordinary gym battle. His father had prepared an actual tournament inside the gym.

At the head of the arena was his father, staring at him with crossed eyes and a wicked frown spread across his face. Lucas gulped in fear – he had never expected a large confrontation such as this one – but he quickly remembered all that his father was doing and became even angrier than he was before.

Without a word, Giovanni stepped up to his side of the gym floor. An announcer boomed through a microphone from a balcony above the entrance, and a referee stepped onto the court.

"Ladies and Gentlemen from Viridian City! Welcome to today's challenge!" the loudspeaker roared. "Today, our gym leader Giovanni challenges his long-lost son, Lucas Parker! Let's begin!"

The referee stood at the center of the arena and motioned for both contestants to take their positions. "This is the beginning of round one of two! Battlers, choose your starting Pokémon!" he shouted. Giovanni whipped out a Great Ball, and Lucas immediately drew his own pokéball. He and Charizard had a plan for whatever ground-type Pokémon Giovanni threw out.

"Ready!"

Lucas drew his arm back, legs spread apart in a defiant stance.

"Set!"

The two family members-turned-rivals locked eyes.

"Battle!"

Lucas threw his pokéball out in front of him, and Charizard flew out of it with a loud snarl. Giovanni elegantly tossed his Great Ball with a smirk, one arm behind his back and feet together.

The ball popped open to eject an Onix. Onix was a rock and ground-type snake Pokémon made entirely of boulders. The body was long, measuring in at about 20 feet. Its brain was a compass, enabling it to have a sense of direction while tunneling underground.

The gym leader presumably thought that Lucas was being arrogant and naïve to throw out a fire-type against a ground-and-rock type, but Lucas had a plan.

Lucas understood the ramifications of his actions. He knew that each individual type – rock and ground, respectively – had double effectiveness to fire, making Onix's attacks a whopping four times more powerful against Charizard. However, Lucas and Charizard had a trick up their sleeves.

Immediately, Giovanni shouted "Onix, use Rock Throw!" The Onix immediately dug its giant nose into the gym floor, ripping up rocks and holding them in its stone mouth. It bent its head back and then thrusted it forward, hurling giant rocks at Charizard with all its might.

Lucas and Charizard had a plan just for this scenario. Charizard looked at Lucas, crossed his eyes, nodded, and flew into the air. He dodged rocks left and right, diving straight towards the Onix.

"Alright, Charizard! Let's do this! Use a Quick Attack!" Lucas shouted.

Charizard knew his odds. He knew that one successful attack could easily beat him down and render him unconscious, but still he charged. He picked up speed until he was just a blur, eventually causing a miniature shockwave to rocket throughout the large arena. Then, using his shoulders, he rammed into the Onix, flinging it across the arena. Giovanni had to jump out of the way to avoid the flying rock monster barreling towards him.

The Onix slammed against the back wall of the gym, and the crowd went ecstatic. Then, the Onix feebly got up, only to be slammed down again by Charizard's foot. It fell back down, and Charizard stood over it, building up all the gasses in his chest until it began to glow blue-hot.

Lucas screamed across the arena, "Okay, Charizard! Let's pump 'em full of fire!"

Then, the most incredible thing happened.

Charizard shot out a large flame, burning a bright blue color. It struck the Onix's waist area with such force that a heat wave coursed through the arena. Faintly, Lucas could hear the announcers yelling how spectacular and unexpected the battle was.

The Onix started to cry in pain, but Charizard kept holding the flame as long as he could.

Eventually, about ten or so seconds later, the dragon finally ceased, coughing up smoke. The large rock snake tried to squirm upright, but it collapsed again with a groan. Lucas noticed from across the battlefield that a large part of the Onix's waist had actually vaporized.

The referee shouted after a few seconds, "Onix is unable to battle, making Charizard the winner!" At this, Giovanni frowned and returned Onix to his respective Great Ball.

Charizard feebly gave Lucas a thumbs-up, then collapsed on the ground. Lucas stared in horror as he realized how exhausted Charizard's tail flame was, and that he and his friend had not anticipated this.

Immediately, a medic team on standby rushed out, barking orders at each other. "Ashton, get the gas syringes! We need to perform Carbon and Hydrogen injections under his tail near his inner thighs for the Acetylene combustion to jump-start again! Come on, let's move!"

Lucas stared at them, a little confused but feeling calmer. He knew that Charizard would be in good hands. He listened to the medics from across the gym, marveling at their medical terminology and how advanced the procedure was. Then, he watched until Charizard was wheeled off of the battlefield in a cart, knocked out from a sedative. One of the medics jogged up to him.

"He's in good hands, kid. Don't worry," the medic said. "You and Charizard surely know how to fight!"

The doctor left, and he snapped back into focus. The referee stood back in the center of the field, and introduced the next round. "Trainers, this is the last round! Choose your Pokémon and assume your positions!"

Chapter 9: Surprise, Surprise

Lucas had been waiting for this moment. And somehow, Lugia had been too. Giovanni unclipped another ball, this time a regular pokéball, and stood in the same position as before. However, he was not smirking, but chuckling.

Lucas slowly drew his Premier Ball from his sash, holding it in his throwing arm.

The announcers came on again, saying "Is that… is that a Premier Ball? How can that be? Is that even legal?"

Lucas payed no attention to them. the referee counted down, and before Lucas could move, Giovanni threw his pokéball with all his might. Out popped a strange Pokémon Lucas had never seen. Lucas whipped out his Pokédex and aimed it at the Pokémon.

"Salamence, the Flying Dragon Pokémon," it beeped. "Salamence is the final evolution of Bagon, and has crescent-shaped wings to increase its aerodynamic capabilities. It has a long tail to help it steer."

Lucas nodded, put the Pokédex away quickly, and threw the Premier Ball. Lugia came out in a burst of blue-white light, elegantly landing on the battlefield in front of Lucas. He looked at Lucas and at the crowd which had gone silent before speaking.

"It's time, isn't it? To train?" the Pokémon said.

Lucas nodded his head with a smile. Lugia turned around to face the Salamence, who was staring back defiantly at the Pokémon. Lucas noticed that Lugia seemed to start glowing a light blue.

Giovanni stared in horror at the legendary Pokémon before him, clearly not expecting to see his son wield such a beast. However, he quickly snapped back into focus. "Salamence, use a Dragon Breath attack!" the leader shouted angrily.

Lucas shouted, "Lugia, use a gust attack to counter it!" Lugia immediately thrusted its hand-like wings in front of it, knocking the Salamence out of the sky. The Salamence attempted to perform the attack again, and it succeeded, but the attack missed by a longshot and hit the ceiling.

Lugia roared "Now, it's my turn!" and flew up into the air.

Lucas, knowing Lugia's most powerful attack, shouted "Lugia, use your Aeroblast attack!"

Almost immediately, a large, light-blue orb appeared in front of Lugia's blue chest, and started growing in size. Ripples of energy flowed across its mysterious surface, until it exploded in a loud blast. A beam of supersonic air shot out of the blue orb, which started to disintegrate rapidly. A large vapor cloud appeared at the head of the wind tunnel, and a trailing shockwave decimated the arena floor.

It did not matter which Pokémon had a "typing advantage" anymore. The thousand-mile-per-hour wind rammed into the Salamence, throwing it back and causing it to slam into the back wall. The wall buckled under the wind and weight of the Salamence, and shattered. Bricks flew out of the new hole in the wall, and pedestrians dove out of the way in horror.

Then, the dust settled.

Chapter 10: Torn Apart

Lucas stared at the downed Salamence outside of the hole in the wall. Giovanni stared at Lucas with a wide-open mouth and beaten eyes. Obviously, he was shocked his new Salamence had been beaten. Lugia stood beside Lucas, glaring defiantly at the Pokémon who was trying, but failing, to stand up. The crowd had stopped taking pictures, and were just absentmindedly looking at Lugia. The announcers had gone completely silent.

After a moment, the referee for the battle shouted, "Salamence is unable to battle, which means Lucas and Lugia are the winners!"

For a moment, Lucas smiled with glee, a smug look on his face directed towards his father. But then he remembered everything.

Flashbacks hit Lucas like a freight train to the noggin. He remembered his dad playing with him in the fields close to his old house in Kanto, and them playing in the parks near friendly wild Pokémon.

He remembered, one day, what Giovanni had told him while they were feeding seeds to passing bird Pokémon: "Never stop getting up, Lucas. Life will beat you to your knees, but what matters is if you can get up."

Time seemed to move in slow motion for Lucas as a small tear trickled down his cheek. Standing across from him was the shell of his father, who lost both of his sons, his wife and house, and everything he knew. Now, he was the ruthless leader of a vile organization based on his own selfishness.

Giovanni stared Lucas down, and started to scream across the field.

"This isn't over, Lucas! Next time, you and your friends will all pay! I'll see to it!" he shouted.

Lucas started whispering to himself, telling his own brain "_No, no, no…_" over and over again. More tears started flowing.

The announcer came over the loudspeaker, saying in a booming voice, "And that's it, folks! Our winner of today is Lucas Parker of the Kanto Region! Congratulations, Lucas… Lucas?"

Lucas had started to walk off the field towards the exit. Jack and Lily were staring at him with a look of deep confusion, and Lugia spoke up, saying "Lucas? Are you okay?"

Lucas didn't look at Lugia, but instead he grabbed his Premier Ball and returned Lugia to it without another word.

Charizard was standing outside the gym, apparently waiting for Lucas. He was initially excited to see him, but quickly saw the expression on Lucas' face. Concerned, Charizard limped sorely over to Lucas.

Lucas thought more about how he and his father shared special memories together. As he walked slightly faster, he was forced to think about how he didn't know his dad anymore.

"Lucas?" Charizard asked, flying next to him to keep up. "Lucas? Where are you going?" When he didn't get an answer, Charizard thought for a moment to himself. He slowly realized what was happening. "Lucas! Wait, pal!"

Lucas ignored him.

"Lucas! Please, listen to me. I know what you're going through. Just please listen, alright?" Charizard said.

Lucas could hear voices in his head growing louder and louder, as memories of his father swarmed his brain. "No, Charizard," he said.

"Lucas, please! Let me talk to you!" Charizard begged desperately.

"No! I… I just can't…" Lucas replied, straining his voice through his ever-increasing sobs.

"Lucas, you know I know what you're going through. Please, just slow down and-" Charizard was cut off as Lucas pointed his pokéball at Charizard, returning him to it without batting an eye.

Lucas heard Jack and Lily come out of the stadium after him.

"Lucas! Lucas, wait! Come back!" Lily shouted in a pleading voice.

He started to jog, his cries coming out harder. More flashbacks hit him harder than a sucker punch, each one making him want to throw up. He could see him playing with his father in his room one second, only to see the form of Giovanni across the stadium arena being corrupted to the point he forgot his own family.

Lucas couldn't stay here anymore, so he ran.

As he ran towards the forest, he started bawling harder and harder. Tears streamed down his face until they soaked the neck of his shirt.

"Lucas! Lucas, no!" he heard Jack scream.

The screams from his friends became more muffled in his ears. He sprinted into the forest, not knowing where he was going.

Once or twice, Charizard tried to come out of his pokéball, but Lucas somehow managed to find the strength to keep it closed.

He only wanted to escape the nightmare his father, Giovanni, had created.

Chapter 11: Don't Leave Me

Darkness. Darkness and silence. This is what greeted Charizard when he was returned to his pokéball.

_Wait… this isn't right…_ Charizard thought to himself. _Where is…everything?_

Indeed, everything was gone. There was no blue sky, mountains, rivers, or plants anywhere. He was alone in darkness.

"Hello?" he cried. He honestly didn't expect anyone to answer him, but it couldn't hurt to try. "Hello! Anyone there?"

Then, he noticed something odd. He couldn't see himself at all. It was almost as if the sun had died. He looked further into the dark landscape, hearing a faint breeze off in the distance. And when he peered further, he saw a faint, shimmering orb of white light. When he saw this, he stopped.

Charizard knew exactly what was happening.

Lucas had lost all of his hope. Pokéballs' landscapes thrived off of the hope of their trainers, and when a trainer has lost all hope, the landscape died. Charizard started to fly towards the faint, shimmering orb. As he grew closer, the air seemed to fill with a static charge of sorts, and he began to panic a little bit. With a soft thud, Charizard landed on the ground directly in front of the light.

He discovered with a jolt what this orb was. This was the physical embodiment of the last of Lucas' hope, drifting in the darkness and waiting to be sparked again. The orb was tiny, in reality. When Charizard peered closer, he realized that it was only a centimeter or two in diameter, but it was radiating a dim light to his surroundings.

Charizard attempted to slowly reach it and touch it. As his clawed hand moved closer, he felt a small amount of resistance. However, it was far less than enough to keep his hand away. He grabbed it gently, holding it softly and sitting down, staring at it. His eyes seemed drawn to it.

He clutched it close to his white chest, keeping it safe just like he did with Lucas every night when they went to sleep. Strangely, it felt warm to the touch, and made him feel calmer for some reason. When he looked deeper into the orb, he realized why: He was the only thing keeping Lucas from giving up hope. That's why he was here right now.

Charizard realized that after everything Lucas had gone through, he was the only thing that made Lucas want to keep pushing forward. And here he was now, protecting the last of Lucas' hope as if his life depended on it. He shed a small tear to these thoughts, and it landed on the orb. Charizard laid down on the cold and dead ground, holding the ball of light even closer until it was buried in his chest. Then, he closed his eyes.

ʘ

Charizard landed with a thud on warm ground. When he opened his eyes, he saw grass and weeds beneath him. He slowly stood up, looking at the sky full of clouds and the trees surrounding him. When he looked behind him, he saw Lucas' bag with all of his pokéballs and his Pokédex inside of it.

About a hundred or so feet away, he saw a large cliff overlooking a town he didn't recognize. The sun was low to the east; he must have slept through the night inside the pokéball. Sitting on the edge of the cliff was Lucas, staring out at the sunrise just as they had done two days ago.

Lucas was completely silent. Charizard slowly and silently walked out of the trees, only to be greeted by a gentle breeze. He finally reached Lucas, who wasn't even blinking. Then, he sat on the edge of the cliff with Lucas, and looked at his face.

Lucas had dried tears on his face down his cheeks. His eyes were dead and bloodshot, mouth motionless.

After a while, Charizard spoke.

"I am so sorry, Lucas."

"I know. It's not your fault," Lucas replied. His voice was strained and cracked. Obviously, he had been crying for hours.

"It's not your fault, either, you know. None of this is." Charizard said solemnly.

"I know… It just doesn't make it any easier. When the same man who constantly told you to get back up when you're beaten down betrays your family, it's hard…" Lucas said.

"I understand, trust me. It never gets easier." Charizard said, now looking at Lucas with sad eyes.

"I miss everything, Charizard. I wish I could see my parents' faces one more time. I just want to have a family again." Lucas said, bowing his head.

That last sentence hit Charizard hard. He did truly understand how Lucas felt, but those words had a special meaning. After a moment, Charizard spoke again.

"Lucas, did I tell you about my family?" the dragon asked softly. "When I was still a Charmander, I had a mother and a father, with two brothers as well. My brothers evolved into Charizards one day after defending our mountain home from an invasion of ground-type Pokémon. They left, and it was just me and my parents.

"After a while, I too evolved into a Charmeleon. During that teenage time, my father left. I remember looking for him out the cave entrance every day. I remember staying up every night, asking my mother when he'd come home. Each night, she simply replied, 'I don't know.'

"I never did find out where my father went. He never returned, and I never saw him in the skies after the day he left. Then, a trainer came into the cave, and I figured I'd start a new life. I joined him, and over the course of many months, I trained hard alongside him. Finally, I evolved into a Charizard.

"A month or two after my evolution, my trainer left me, too. For a week I sat alone, wondering if I was destined to be abandoned. And then I found you. You shaped me and saved me as I have you, Lucas.

"Stuff like this happens, Lucas. But remember what that kid said to you? Ash, was his name? He said to never give up, because everything happens for a reason. I'm beginning to think he's right."

Charizard finished his story, now looking out over the cliff.

"I'm so sorry…" Lucas said, now looking at Charizard.

"Don't mention it. If none of that happened, I wouldn't be here with you right now." Charizard replied, smiling.

"And I know you're right. Nothing is ever easy…"

From behind both of them, Lucas and Charizard heard a voice. It said, "We'll be by you the whole time, Lucas," in a confident voice.

Lucas turned around to see Lugia, Mew, Dragonair, and Lapras (who was in a nearby pond) looking at Lucas. They had all popped out of their pokéballs, and Lugia had spoken first.

Lucas smiled warmly, knowing that he had made a new family that cared for him just as much. He realized that no matter what happened in the future, he'd have his friends by him the whole time.

He walked over towards the gang, wiping his tears away and starting to smile. "Thanks, guys," Lucas said in a soft tone.

Jack and Lily stumbled out of the woods. "Lucas, there you are!" they cried. "We've been looking for you all night along the main roads! You had us scared to death!"

"I know, but I just needed some time to think," Lucas responded.

"Don't do that again! Jeez, man…" Jack said, shaking his head.

Then, the three friends came in for a hug. Charizard did the same, and pretty soon all of the other Pokémon (including Lapras, as they were standing on the shore of the pond) wrapped around Lucas warmly, showing him through this simple gesture that they'd always be there for him, right by his side.

Chapter 12: Anatomy

A long time passed before the group continued on again. Lucas was drastically shaken from the confrontation with his father; however, he was starting to feel better. For a few hours, the gang sat on the edge of the cliff with Lucas, his Pokémon comforting him the whole time.

It was a while before noon when the group decided to keep moving. All that mattered now was that the gang had gotten into the city, grabbed their materials, and were all safe.

After an hour of walking and chatting about the battle and how well Lucas, Lugia, and Charizard did, Jack surprised Lucas with something special.

"Hey, Lucas," Jack said. "I want you to have this." He held out a shiny, small medal shaped like a leaf with fading colors. It was encrusted on a brown, circular disk that gleamed brightly in the sun.

"What is that?" Lucas asked, squinting at it in confusion.

"It's the Earth Badge," Jack replied. "When a trainer defeats a gym leader in a gym battle, it is customary for the leader to present the trainer with a badge that symbolizes the mastery of that gym's Pokémon type. For your father, his respective Pokémon type was ground-type Pokémon, which means that his badge to hand out was the Earth Badge. You won, so you earned it."

Lucas gently took the badge from Jack's hands, feeling its weight and turning the medal over in his hand. He smiled, clipping it to the inside of his jacket. "Thanks," he said. Turning to Charizard, he started to speak again. "So, what happened after they took you off the field? What exactly happened to you?"

Charizard replied, slightly embarrassed, "My flame is hot enough to vaporize rock if I can hold it long enough. However, I almost exhausted all of my fuel. You see, I burn a chemical compound called Acetylene. It's a highly flammable gas that I produce inside my body. When I held my Flamethrower attack for that long, I exhausted the Carbon and Hydrogen necessary to produce it."

Lucas was still confused. "How do you produce it and burn it?" he asked.

"Simple," he explained. "Underneath my tail between my thighs, I have two large organs called Combustion Hearts. These two organs break down some nutrients from food in my body into Carbon and Hydrogen. The left Heart always produces Carbon, while the other produces Hydrogen.

"I expel excess gasses by naturally mixing the two together once they leave the chambers. Then, the new Acetylene travels up an esophagus-like tube through my tail. The temperature in my tail is higher, so the gasses start to burn, and I expel them as a flame on my tail. The heat in my tail helps to keep my blood flowing and my heart pumping.

"The medics knew this, obviously, so they brought out syringes filled with each respective gas. They gave me a sedative to put me to sleep and carefully injected each organ, which helped to jump-start the reaction again. I almost died, actually. My tail is warmer because of the gasses, so when I wasn't burning the gasses, that means I almost ran out of each element and my body temperature started to drop. I wouldn't have been able to naturally produce more gas before I succumbed to my condition."

Lucas didn't know that Charizard's life depended on his tail flame. He was honestly shocked. "Then why did you do it? You didn't have to."

"I didn't know I was running out of fuel until I actually did. I didn't feel anything," the dragon responded.

Then, another thought struck Lucas that startled him. "Wait, so what happens if you fall in water?"

"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I can be fully submerged and survive, actually. The Acetylene burns as it travels up my tail to produce heat. This is hot enough at the tip to vaporize the water directly above my tail, causing an Acetylene bubble to form. This bubble then ignites constantly, so my flame can actually survive underwater. Even if water got inside my tail, it would be vaporized into water vapor and tickle a little bit."

Lucas looked at him in shock. "That's incredible!" He exclaimed with wide eyes.

"Yeah, it really is. As long as I don't hold my attacks for that long again, I'll be fine no matter what," he replied.

Charizard gave Lucas a fond look, seeing how concerned he was for his safety and just how important he was to Lucas. He had not yet told Lucas what happened inside the pokéball and probably wouldn't for a while, but when the time was right, he would spill it.

They continued walking with the others, talking and laughing along the way.

Chapter 13: The Roses

Lucas and the others walked down the path for what seemed like days. Along the path, they saw a variety of Pokémon. Some of these were ones that Lucas had never seen, while others were ones that he had grown familiar with seeing.

Out of things to talk about, the gang walked in silence with smiles on each of their faces. They were content with just strolling through nature and enjoying its sounds. Then, Jack stopped as he came across a red mass in the middle of the path.

"Hey, guys! Come check this out!" he shouted.

"What is it?" Lily asked, now walking over.

"It's… It's a rose." Lucas said behind the two.

"What's a rose doing out here? There are no rose plants around these parts of Kanto. And how is it still alive in this heat?" Jack asked the others. Lucas shrugged nonchalantly, while Lily bent down to get a closer look. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw more red.

"Look, there's another!" she said. The trio jogged to it, examining it. It was another red rose, except this one was off the path and near a small stream. And again, nearby, there was another rose.

"They seem to be forming a trail of sorts. It's definitely not a coincidence," Lucas remarked with a face of slight confusion. "I say we follow them."

"Agreed," Charizard said. "They could lead to something important, like a stash of supplies or something."

Lucas relayed what Charizard said to the others, and they all nodded their heads in agreement.

The group started to run, following the roses. It was relatively easy to spot them, as their red color stood out among all the green in the forest. Jumping over logs and ducking under webs, the forest became a blur to Lucas. He realized that he had drastically overtaken the others, but didn't stop to let them catch up.

He did, however, look back to see Charizard gracefully flying through the trees, expertly dodging branches and performing dives when necessary. Lucas was amazed at how agile and powerful his friend was.

Before long, Lucas and Charizard made it to the bottom of a small cliff. The others caught up after a minute and stood beside Lucas. They all looked around and didn't see any more roses.

"I'll climb up the cliff. Shouldn't be too hard," Lucas said. "I'll yell down if I see anything. You guys check and see if there's anything else down here."

Lucas gripped a lodged rock in each hand and started to climb. The cliff was maybe twenty or thirty feet high, so he figured it wouldn't take long to get to the top. Wiping his brow, crossing his eyes and gritting his teeth, he performed a launch to another rock higher up. Snagging it like a professional, he smiled and continued on.

When he finally made it to the top, he looked around. The terrain was mostly flat and grassy, but it was a clearing of the forest about one hundred and fifty feet in diameter. There was a small wooden shack near the far edge of the clearing with a large red "R" spray painted on it.

Lucas turned to his side to see the others climbing over the edge. Charizard was slowly floating upwards to make sure they didn't fall, creating a pleasant breeze with his wings.

Lucas walked over to the shack slowly. When he got closer, he realized that it was extremely tiny, being maybe five feet by five feet. It was made completely of half-deteriorated wood, with a door of the same color wood and broken near the top. He gently gripped the doorknob, turned it, and opened the door.

The shack seemed even smaller on the inside, but that was mainly due to the shelves lining the walls. On these shelves rested a multitude of pokéballs and a few scattered Great Balls. On another shelf laid some Pokédexes and satchels with memory cards for them. Charizard was correct, as it was indeed a stash of materials, but the large red "R" meant something to Lucas.

The others gathered behind Lucas at the doorway.

"Who do you think this could belong to?" Jack asked.

"Guys, something's familiar about this…" Lucas said, growing nervous. "This red 'R'… I've seen it before somewhere."

Charizard's eyes widened in horror as he realized who owned the shack just as Lucas figured it out.

"Team Rocket. My father's henchmen. How could I have forgotten?" Lucas said with crossed eyes.

From behind them, they heard laughter. Then, a female voice spoke up. "Aw, you remembered us! How sweet!" the voice said. Lucas turned around slower than he ever did. Standing about thirty feet away were Jessie, James, and their talking Meowth.

"And now we have you right where we want you. You fell for our trap, you see? Just beautiful!" James said, laughing and throwing all the roses from the trail into the air.

"Welcome to our stash hideout! Please, enjoy your stay, because you'll have to deal with the boss after we're done here!" Jessie said in a smug tone.

Lucas' hand reached down to his side, gripping a pokéball in his hand. His eyes crossed again, blazing with a passionate rage. "So be it. This is my fight," he said.

Chapter 14: Jessie and James

Lucas had never felt more enraged in his life. Every ounce of regret and sadness he felt about his father had almost vanished, leaving room for pure anger at the man who had betrayed him. Now, standing in front of him, were Giovanni's henchmen. Lucas felt that they were somehow responsible for the downfall of his father's personality of kindness.

Both Jessie and James whipped out a pokéball each. "Now, we're prepared for you and your tricks!" they shouted together in an almost singsong voice.

"Come on out, Gyarados!" James shouted. He threw his pokéball up into the air as hard as he could. When it opened, a large, flying Gyarados came out and roared. It seemed to be levitating while slowly moving around in the air.

"Time to shine, Raichu!" Jessie shouted. She elegantly threw her pokéball in front of her, releasing a large mouse-like Pokémon. It had a long, thin tail with a lightning bolt-shaped point at the end. Its underbelly was white surrounded by an orange-yellow, and it had long ears and rabbit-like feet.

Lucas whipped out his Pokédex and aimed it at the Pokémon.

"Raichu, the electric mouse Pokémon," it beeped out. "Raichu is the evolution of Pikachu, and the final evolution of Pikachu's pre-evolution Pichu. It discharges excess electric energy by using its tail as a grounding rod."

Lucas nodded, putting away his Pokédex. His eyes crossed further, and Charizard noticed this. "Lucas, do you need me here? I think I can take them," he said.

"No," Lucas replied in a monotone voice. "I have a plan. They'll regret this." He aimed Charizard's pokéball at him, pressing the button and watching him disappear. Then, Lucas whipped out two of his own pokéballs. He drew both of his arms back behind his waist, preparing for a dual curveball throw. "You guys asked for it!" he shouted defiantly.

He jolted his arms forward into a cross, releasing both pokéballs at the same time. Each ball curved through the air, before hitting the ground and expelling the monsters within. Out of the regular pokéball came Dragonair, its long body and pearls gleaming in the sunbeams from the trees. The Great Ball that he threw ejected Lucas' secret weapon.

Mew dashed out of the Great Ball with such great speed that it looked like a miniature meteor flying in the sky. It settled beside Dragonair, floating in the air a few feet above the ground.

Lucas noticed that Mew's eyes were crossed. He could feel a certain negative energy radiating from the mythical Pokémon, realizing soon after that it was the same anger Lucas was experiencing. They both were sharing each other's emotions.

Jessie and James stood in shock. They had seriously underestimated Lucas' strength as a trainer, and were terrified of the dragon Pokémon in front of them that they had previously tried to capture. However, they quickly regained their composure after a few seconds.

"I see you got that useless Dragonair to evolve! Congrats, but it won't help you. A weak Pokémon is still weak when it evolves!" Jessie said smugly.

This filled Lucas with an unbearable amount of pure rage. "Enough! Dragonair, use Draco Meteor on Raichu! Show them what we practiced!" Lucas shouted. It was true; during his free time, he trained with all his Pokémon while walking with the group.

Dragonair nodded its serpent head, and the pearls on its chest and tail started to glow. Its eyes shut, only to re-open again to show them glowing a bright white. Then, it let out a shrill scream that startled Lucas and the others. It sounded as if a thousand souls had been released at once, flooding the forest with their cries.

Then, nothing happened.

Jessie and James started to laugh hysterically, doubling over and clutching their sides. However, they looked up when the sky split apart.

The laughing quickly died down, only to be replaced by screams. A stream of meteoroids entered the Earth's atmosphere, burning a bright orange and heading straight for the battlefield. Dragonair's pearls and eyes were still glowing, apparently controlling the space rocks as they fell to ensure they didn't fall apart.

"Raichu, dodge, dodge it now!" Jessie shouted in terror. The Raichu started to run away from the attack, but it was too late. The meteoroids turned into meteorites as they struck the Earth, sending out chunks of earth and heat waves. One of the meteorites found its mark, hitting the Raichu as it was trying to jump out of the way. It flew into the air, hitting a tree and causing a massive electrical explosion as it landed and got knocked out cold.

Once the dust settled, everyone saw the true extent of the attack. The whole entire clearing was covered in craters, dirt scattered everywhere. The only part of the field that wasn't damaged was where Dragonair was laying. It slithered down into a crater, reappearing near Lucas on the other side. Then, it started to glow brighter than ever, causing everyone to shield their eyes.

A roar emanated from the ball of light, until it faded to show a truly spectacular yellow-orange dragon. It had a white striped underbelly, small green and orange wings, and clawed arms. Lucas noticed two small antennae on its head. Lucas pulled out his Pokédex again in excitement, aiming it at the dragon.

"Dragonite, the Guide Pokémon. Dragonite is the rare final evolution of Dratini, and is most well-known for guiding lost or floundering ships to safety. It has a lightweight body, allowing it to fly with small wings. It also has the ability to sense the energy of moves from different Pokémon and mimic them through use of its antennae," it said.

"Congratulations, you evolved again!" Lucas shouted, with glee. Dragonite, in return, gave a roar of happiness, and stood beside Lucas calmly.

"Okay, Gyarados! Let's end this!" James shouted. The flying beast flew into the battlefield, dwarfing Mew in size and glaring at it. Mew stared at it defiantly, eyes glowing with rage.

"Wait… what Pokémon is that? I've never seen it before." James remarked.

Jessie whipped out the team's Pokédex, aiming it at Mew. It stuttered for a bit, before giving a status.

"Pokémon not recognized," it beeped. "Scanning internal database. Zero results. Scanning Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, and Kalos Internet Databases. Zero results."

Jessie pressed a few buttons on the Pokédex, and re-aimed it at Mew.

"Analyzation of Pokémon body type, check. Scanning infrared signature, check. Scanning genetic makeup… complete. Accessing Kanto Database… eighteen scholarly articles found on subject 'Mew,' based on body type and genetic makeup. Analyzing historical databases… scan complete."

With another button press, the Pokédex made a series of rapid beeps before speaking again.

"Mew, the Gene Pokémon. Mew is a psychic-type, mythical Pokémon that is said to carry the genetic code for all Pokémon. It is a direct descendant of Arceus, the God Pokémon, and the ancestor to all modern Pokémon. Mew is said to only appear to trainers who are pure of heart and have a strong desire to see it. Only a small handful of trainers have seen Mew."

Both members of Team Rocket stared in shock for the longest time. Mew stared right back, ready to battle. Finally, James regained his composure. "Use Hydro Pump, Gyarados! Fast!" he shouted.

The massive beast's chest expanded, only to shoot out a large jet of water directed at Mew. Mew, in turn, created a sort of psychic shield in front of itself without lifting one of its small hands.

Once the water was directed away from Mew, Lucas shouted one instruction to Mew with an almost-evil grin, "Mew… use Psyshock."

Mew's eyes started to glow a bright white, similar to how Dragonair-now-Dragonite's had. Then, Mew floated slowly into the air, hovering at a good thirty or forty feet. Its hands started to form a humming bubble made of pure, white energy. Lucas and all the others could feel a sharp static in the air as the bubble grew in size, eventually dwarfing Mew and filling the field with a white glow.

Mew then proceeded to throw the ball to the ground with a terrifying shriek, eyes blindingly bright and radiating heat.

The ball exploded in the center of the field. All the trainers and Pokémon rushed to safety behind trees as a purple-orange fireball erupted in the center of the field, forming a mushroom cloud. A shockwave ripped across the landscape, tearing down trees but sparing the ones that were sheltering Lucas and the others. The cliffside deteriorated, causing the ground to sink and rocks to be thrown everywhere. After that, the ground near the cliff and around the clearing started to break apart, spewing dirt into the air.

The dust settled and smoke cleared after a while. The Gyarados was twenty feet away from the destroyed cliff, still breathing but heavily injured. James slowly stood up, returning it to its pokéball. Mew had settled down to the ground, eyes now normal and silent. Jessie and James, who were covered in dirt and ash, proceeded to run away screaming at the top of their lungs.

Lucas stood up slowly, emerging from the rubble with Charizard and his friends.

"Holy crap…" Jack said as he looked around.

A large, deep crater extended across the field, rendering the other smaller craters non-existent. Trees were flattened for hundreds of feet around, and the ground was cracked extensively, creating a fault line of sorts. Team Rocket's secret stash hut had blown apart, scattering wood and pokéballs everywhere.

Mew then returned itself to Lucas' Great Ball without a peep.

"Let's go, guys. We're done here," Lucas said in a monotone voice. He started to walk back towards the path, Charizard right beside him. Jack and lily looked at each other, looked at Lucas, shrugged, and then started to walk as well.

Chapter 15: Off to the Desert

Only ten or so minutes of silence later, the trio of travelers started to hear what sounded like helicopters. They ran as fast as they could on the path, following signs for the nearest town, Pewter City. Lucas ran out of breath after fifteen minutes of running, and the others took a break as well. Finally, a word was spoken.

"That…was… amazing!" Lily said through deep breaths.

"Yeah, that was… how did we even get out of that? The explosion devastated everything!" Jack asked.

"Simple," Lucas said. "Mew deflected the blast away from us to protect us."

"That makes sense," Lily remarked after a moment.

After a minute of resting, Charizard, who was massaging his inner thigh, spoke to Lucas. "So, where to now?" he asked.

Lucas pointed to a nearby sign with a smile on his face. Charizard looked over, reading it.

"Pewter City. Good. I think we need to get ourselves cleaned up. We're a mess!" he laughed. Lucas smiled and laughed, looking down at his own clothes, then at Jack and Lily's clothes as well.

ʘ

Pewter City was by no means a city, rather just a larger-than-normal town. There were no skyscrapers, lavishly decorated entrances, neon signs, or crowds of people. Lucas, Jack, Lily, and Charizard quietly sauntered into the town, noting different storefronts and shops.

Unlike in Viridian City, the gym was quite close to the main road. It was incredibly small looking on the outside, but extended back quite a bit. The front of it was made completely of stone, with a metal roof outline.

As the gang rounded a corner, they were met by a gaggle of people. However, the people were not interested in the travelers, but were crowded around a shop window with a TV and speaker. Lucas listened in to what the people were watching, which wasn't hard considering how silent everyone was.

The TV was playing a news station with a female reporter, urgently talking about an unknown event.

"… covering reports of a massive explosion in the Viridian Forest," the woman said. "The cause is unknown, but the damage is extensive. Here is our Kanto News 17 chopper with reporter Daniel Tipper."

The screen shifted over to a male reporter in a chopper, the landscape behind him in shambles. "Here is the damage caused by a massive explosion that rocked the surrounding landscape. We are receiving reports of shockwaves as far away as Pallet Town, Viridian City, and Pewter City. Eyewitnesses from travelling passerby say that the explosion was a pinkish-orange, and the shockwave was powerful enough to knock the wind out of them.

"As you can see," he said as the camera zoomed in slightly, "the damage is quite extensive. We have trees downed for about a half a mile around the blast site, and the remnants of a mushroom cloud. There's also a large crater dominating the forest now, with, strangely, wood and pokéballs scattered inside and around it.

"All evidence points to a psychic-type explosion of sorts, but no known Pokémon has been known to produce such powerful Psyshock blasts. Environmental scientists and Pokémon researchers are examining further. Back to you, Natasha."

Lucas looked away from the TV, now motioning Jack, Lily, and Charizard to follow him around to the back of a nearby shop.

"Listen, you guys. We need to clean up, buy some stuff, and get out of here. Pretty soon, they'll suspect it was us," Lucas said. He felt a twitching at his side, and before he could stop it, Lugia popped out of his Premier Ball.

"What are you doing? People will see you!" Lucas hissed.

"Don't worry, Lucas. They cannot see me. They have no reason to come back here. Listen," Lugia whispered, "The Johto Region's border is not too far away from here. We can go to the Kanto-Johto desert, stay there for a little bit, and train. This whole ordeal should die down by the time we return."

"How do you know what happened?" Lucas asked.

"I can see everything outside of the Premier Ball when I want to…or feel the need to. It's part of my psychic abilities," he responded.

Lucas nodded, thanked Lugia, and returned him to the Premier Ball. Then, the group split up to buy new (but similar) clothes, food, water, and other necessities.

ʘ

Lucas thought about his encounter with Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, and his two friends Misty and Brock. He was especially thinking about Brock, seeing as he lived in the Pewter City Gym. Lucas wondered if he should stop to say hello to him, before remembering that he was on his journey with Ash.

As the trio and dragon were walking out of the city, they listened in on the newscaster again.

"…advise caution to anyone around Route Two," she said. "We have a massive storm cell heading towards the Viridian Forest in between Viridian City and Pewter City. Reports and atmospheric scans show a mesocyclone, increasing the chances of tornadoes. However, the rain may help to sterilize the air around the blast site of the previously-mentioned explosion. In other news, the search for Lucas Parker, age thirteen, continues throughout the Kanto region after a mysterious house fire. More on that after the break."

Lucas chuckled, looked away, and walked out of the town with his friends, not really worried about the storm even though he had a feeling he should be.

Chapter 16: The Storm

Off in the distance, a massive storm was brewing. Lucas looked at it from two or three miles away on Route Two, gaping at how large it was. The storm was a rotating wall cloud, glowing blue from the sun hitting the water inside it. Ripples of clouds seemed to form a vertical ocean along its edge, adding to the ominous appearance. The travelers could see the anvil-shaped top of the cloud, but it was so high up that their heads were straining to see it.

"I think we should get to some sort of cover!" Lucas shouted over the increasing wind. "It's getting pretty bad out here already, and the storm hasn't even reached us yet!"

"Good idea! I don't think we'll be able to ride it out for long unless we can run for a couple miles! Is there a river nearby?" Jack shouted back in response.

Charizard tapped Lucas on the shoulder, pointing to a landmark. "There, Lucas! A river behind that cliffside over there! The cliff should protect us from the wind for a bit!" he shouted.

Lucas relayed what Charizard said to the other two. They nodded, and started to run over to the cliff. One by one, the three climbed down the cliffside towards the shore of the river.

Lucas and the others could now speak in a normal voice. The wind was about twenty feet above them when they touched the ground, leaving a ghostly rumble through the trees.

Charizard looked at Lucas with a look of despair. "Um… Lucas? I have some bad news and good news. Which one do you want first?" he asked.

"Ah, crap…give me the good news," Lucas said nervously.

"Okay, well, the good news is that this river will lead us directly to the desert if we follow it westward," Charizard said in a half-upbeat voice.

"And the bad news?" Lucas asked.

"The bad news is that, um… that's where the storm is," the dragon said, pointing. "The river bends up ahead, and that bend points towards the desert. Basically, if there are no twisters, we'll be safest right here."

"And if there are?" Lucas asked.

After a slight pause, he said, "Then we're right in the middle of a wind tunnel."

Lucas could see how nervous Charizard was. Jack and Lily noticed this, too, after they listened to him growling his name at Lucas.

"What's he saying, Lucas?" Lily asked in a monotonously nervous voice.

Lucas relayed everything the dragon said to them. They nodded, knowing that there was nothing they could do but wait.

Lucas looked up to see the wall of the storm above them. It was almost surreal to look at from below; the sharp contrast of the gray-blue storm versus the blue and white sky was spectacularly terrifying.

ʘ

About ten minutes later, the group heard a low, steady rumbling. It sounded not too dissimilar to that of a freight train. This thought scared Lucas horribly, as he realized what he was hearing. He climbed up the cliff at a rapid pace, ignoring the cries of his friends to get down.

When he reached the top, he slowly stood up and looked in front of him. What he saw made his heart sink into his feet

He was staring at a massive tornado. It was about two hundred feet in diameter, roaring straight towards Lucas and the others, about a quarter of a mile away. He looked up the shaft of the storm, noticing its uniformity in shape from the bottom of the cloud to the ground. The ground was being ripped up in literal chunks, and trees near the funnel were being snapped like dead twigs in winter. Behind the tornado, the ground was fully exposed, with no grass left behind.

Lucas looked down at the others, then proceeded to climb down again. "We've got trouble! There's a large tornado coming this way!" he screamed. The roaring was getting louder and louder, drowning out all other sounds in his ears. Eventually, they could see it above them, about to jump over the cliff.

"Brace yourselves!" Jack shouted.

When the tornado jumped the cliff, the wind kicked up at an alarming rate. What was once a gentle breeze became a wall of wind that smacked into the trio. Charizard grabbed Lucas, clutching his shirt and holding him tightly.

Rocks started to fall around them from the cliff, and chunks of land (some with groups of trees still on them) slammed into the ground with such force that they rippled the dirt around them. Water from the river was starting to spiral into the vortex, creating a spray that jettisoned outward.

Then, Lucas slipped. Charizard's clawed hand had been hit by a rock, causing him to yelp in shock and let go on accident.

"No! Lucas!" he shouted.

Lucas tried clawing at the rocks to prevent himself from being sucked into the vortex, but his efforts were in vain. He was lifted off of his feet and started to spiral in. Losing sight of his friends, he looked around inside the funnel.

ʘ

He was already a hundred or so feet in the air. At this point, Lucas could see large chunks of land around him, and past that, the distant horizon. Lucas had never been afraid of heights, however, so looking around didn't frighten him as much as it should have.

He moved his arm, noticing how it affected his movement in the twister. Then, he realized something: the wind was so strong, it was keeping him afloat. If he could somehow harness this ability to control his movements with the wind, he could have a shot at getting out of the tornado.

Lucas thought about the day his house burned down to the ground. He remembered how he was able to do a flip off of the stairs (to the disappointment of his mother). Those same aerodynamics could apply here, sort of. He angled his body downward, which made him move to a large, suspended chunk of land. Gracefully, he stuck his feet out to land on it, and with a thud he touched down.

The wind was keeping the chunk in the air, so there was no wind above it. Lucas, using this to his advantage, spread his feet and got into a sprinting position. He had ten feet of room to run and jump. Crossing his eyes and focusing hard, he ran at full force.

Once he reached the edge, Lucas jumped as high as he could. The wind smacked into him, amplifying his jump tenfold. Nearby, there was another hunk of land on its side at an almost ninety-degree angle. He angled his body towards it, spreading his feet.

Lucas was on adrenaline. He felt superhuman, flying through the air and dodging rocks. His feet touched down on the ground of the piece of land. With a burst of energy, he performed a spectacular wall run across the dirt, jumping at the last second as a boulder struck it and shattered it.

The tornado was moving slower and rotating far less than it had been before, he realized. This gave him more time. All he needed to do was to angle himself so that he was facing his friends when he jumped again. Landing on one last piece of land, he looked around.

Lucas saw his friends below, looking up at him. Charizard was in a pose that suggested he was ready to fly up at any moment.

When he realized he was in optimal positioning, he ran and jumped.

Now, Lucas was outside of the vortex. Plummeting to the ground, he spread his arms and legs to produce drag.

"CHARIZARD!" he yelled.

The dragon flew up into the air below him, rocketing towards him at an incredible rate. The flame on his tail turned into a streak because of how fast he was going. Lucas rolled over onto his back just before Charizard snagged him.

"I got you this time!" Charizard said.

Lucas smiled as they touched down, looking at his friends who were staring at him in shock.

"We saw everything, and that was incredible!" Jack exclaimed.

"Yeah, how did you do that?" Lily asked.

"I really don't know," Lucas said, chuckling. "I felt superhuman, to be honest. I guess it was just adrenaline."

"Well, either way," Charizard said, "I'm not letting you go like that again!"

"Don't worry about it, Charizard. You got hit by a rock, it's not your fault," Lucas replied. He turned to see the tornado again. It turns out that he jumped in the nick of time, as the tornado had just dissipated and the rain stopped.

"Let's go. This forest is nothing but trouble," Lucas said, sighing and shaking his head. Before luck turned against them once more, they ran in the direction of the river.

Chapter 17: A Strange Encounter

The tornado had long dissipated and the wind had died down significantly, but the rain was still pouring down. A steady fall of water fell upon the group, of whom were huddling in blankets. Lucas, however, loved the water, and decided to cool off a little by getting wet. He heard a sizzling sound coming from Charizard, and laughed as he realized it was water being vaporized on his tail.

For a solid wet hour, the trio trudged towards the desert's border. They had decided not to take the river on Lapras, as the water was rough and they could see rocks. Instead, they decided to stick to the path so they wouldn't be diverted.

Lucas saw what appeared to be another person walking towards them, but it was hard to tell considering the haze caused by the rain. Eventually, the person came into full view of the group. He had blonde, combed hair with a barber's trim on the sides, and sad, blue-green eyes. He was wearing jeans, sneakers, and a gray t-shirt. The boy looked to be about seventeen or eighteen years old, however he was only as tall as Lucas. His hands were in his pockets as he slowly walked in the rain, head down.

"Hey, man. You okay?" Lucas stopped and asked the boy.

"Hello, Lucas," the kid said when he got close. This shocked Lucas, as he had never met this kid in his life. Suddenly, Lucas felt a shuddering on his side. He looked down to see Lugia's and Mew's pokéballs vibrating. The closer the boy got, the more they seemed to vibrate.

"Wait… how do you know who I am? Who are you?" Lucas asked. Charizard slowly fell into a defensive pose, feeling uneasy.

"I know many things about you, my friend. And as for me… you know who I am," he said. At this point, he looked up.

Lucas wasn't prepared for what he saw when the boy looked up at him. It wasn't terrifying, but it definitely was enough to fill him with a sense of dread.

His eyes were the saddest that Lucas had ever seen. They appeared lost, as if he was looking for a friend he'd never find, and his mouth was resting on his face with no emotions. It was almost as if Lucas could feel how this kid was feeling, simply by seeing his face.

"You and I are not too dissimilar, Lucas. Not at all. This should help you to understand," he slowly stated as he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. Handing it to Lucas, he turned to Charizard.

"Hey, buddy. It's been a while," he said with a tear, "I know you can understand me, so… take good care of Lucas. You have no idea how much you mean to him."

With that, the kid turned back to Lucas. "You've found your best friend… now, I need to find him too." Looking back at Charizard again, he continued, "I know he's out there somewhere. And he's not too different from you."

"What's your name, kid?" Lucas asked, confused. "Who are you looking for?"

"You know my name," he replied.

Jack and Lily both just stared at the kid, but he didn't look at them. Then, with one last look at Charizard, he started walking with his hands in his pockets like before. The rain had started to clear a bit, but it was still a tiny bit foggy, so they could see him.

"Do you know him? Was he your previous trainer?" Lucas asked Charizard.

"No… I've never seen him in my life," the dragon responded. "What's on the paper?"

Lucas turned the paper over in his hands and unfolded it. It was a picture, expertly drawn and colored in. He gasped as he saw what it was.

The center of the paper was divided by a vertical, black line. In the center, there was a person who was cut down the middle, walking down a path from behind with his hands in his pockets. On one side of the line, the boy had black hair with a backpack, and he was walking down a city street with gray skies. By his side was a Charizard, walking alongside him, and Lucas could only assume it was his own friend.

On the other side of him, the picture detailed a different scene. On this half, the boy resembled the kid Lucas had just met, with a faded blond barber's cut and brown satchel. He was walking down a pathway through the woods, with blue skies above him. Next to him was a Charizard, just like Lucas', but it was looking at the boy fondly. Lucas could only assume that the Charizard on the boy's side of the drawing was the friend he was looking for.

He looked up from the picture, not five seconds after he glanced at it. "Hey, kid! Who are these people… kid?" Lucas said. He looked down the path the boy had gone, right behind the group. However, he was gone. All that remained were his footprints, which seemed to abruptly stop in the middle of the path where he was walking.

"Kid! Where'd you go? Hello?" he yelled. Alas, the lonely boy was nowhere to be seen. They were not on a hill, and the fog was now in the distance, so the trio should have been able to see him. Jack and Lily peered into the woods, but he was not there, either. He just… vanished.

"What the… who was he? Where'd he go?" Lucas asked to nobody in particular. Everybody around him shrugged, coming up with nothing as to where the boy went.

"That's weird. Was he like a ghost or something?" Lily asked.

"I don't know… could be, though. Maybe a trainer who never found his best friend? And what did he mean when he said he knew me?" Lucas asked. He looked at the picture again in his hands, before folding it and putting it in his bookbag neatly. For some reason, the picture meant something to Lucas, and he suddenly did feel as if he knew the kid from somewhere. He just couldn't put his finger on it, but it felt as though the boy was a part of him somehow.

Shaking his thoughts away from the encounter, he shook his head and continued walking down the path.

Chapter 18: Dust

Eventually, after a long walk, they finally merged into the desert. Lucas noticed how the trees and grass gradually thinned out to sandy dunes and wind. However, it was oddly peaceful. There was nobody around for miles, and even if there was, they were probably nomads.

He was still trying to shake the thoughts of the boy from his mind, but it was resting in the back of his head. However, whenever he asked himself a question about the kid, his mind gave him more questions than answers in return.

Lucas noticed a brown, shimmering haze on the distant horizon to his left. He thought nothing of it, and instead focused on climbing the dunes in front of him. That was relatively easy to do, seeing as they were all around for miles, and some dunes reached very high into the sky.

An hour later, as the sun was starting to set, Lucas looked at Charizard. He was giggling to himself, looking back at Lucas.

"Shut up, Charizard. You're built on heat! We get it, you're comfortable," Lucas chuckled while breathing heavily and sweating.

"I'm sorry, it's just so funny to think about!" the dragon replied. Lucas chuckled, shook his head, and continued on.

"Look! Over there!" Lily shouted. She pointed to what appeared to be buildings.

"What are those?" Jack asked, squinting in the evening sun.

"Is that a… a town? Who in their right mind would build a town out here?" Lucas asked.

"I don't think that's a town…" Charizard said slowly.

The trio and dragon ran over to it, then slowly walked through it. Charizard was half-right, as it wasn't a functioning town, but it was an old town nevertheless. Ruins of buildings were scattered over two or three acres of land. Many of the buildings had toppled, but the ones that remained were very tiny and had no windows. Almost all of the abandoned buildings were made of a brown clay.

"Does anyone have a map?" Jack asked. Lucas pulled out his map, squinting at it. He looked at Jack, shaking his head. Jack nodded back, and then stumbled back in horror.

A brown haze was shrouding the horizon. It had blocked out most of the sun, reducing it to merely a dot in the sky that could easily be looked at. Lucas realized that this was the same shroud that he had looked at earlier, slapping himself mentally for not saying anything to the others.

"It's a dust storm!" Lily shouted. "We have to find shelter, now! How didn't we see it coming?"

"I don't know!" Lucas responded frantically. He immediately ran over to the ruins, ducking behind a wall. The others followed suit. Then, he noticed something odd.

The floor in front of him had a rectangular seam with a handle. He dashed over to it, skidding to a stop on the sand. Kneeling down, he brushed off the dirt and sand around the edges.

"Guys, I found a hatch!" Lucas shouted to the others.

However, it was too late. The dust storm shrouded over the group, pelting them with sand. Charizard ducked down further behind the wall, clutching his tail to keep it out of the sand. Lucas grabbed the hatch handle, tugging on it. Slowly, it opened up to reveal a dark entrance. He shined his Pokédex light in it, revealing a small bunker large enough for all of them.

"In here, in here!" Lucas shouted. The others rushed to the entrance, diving inside. Charizard, holding his tail in front of him, jumped down into the bunker with a loud thud. Lucas looked at the ghost town once more, jumped down, and sealed the entrance shut. He could faintly hear the wind outside of the entrance howling through the walls of the abandoned streets.

Shining his light again, Lucas looked around. The bunker was about ten feet tall and fifteen feet wide on both sides. He saw a light switch, and flipped it. Immediately, a bright bulb turned on in the bunker and illuminated its surroundings.

"That's strange… what's a light switch and bulb doing in here?" Lucas asked. The others shrugged, but quickly examined the room.

The bunker was made of a strong metal, with bolts lining the walls in the corners. Just like the shack in the woods, there were shelves lined with various pokéballs and a few Pokédexes. Lucas noticed a few pokéballs that he had never seen before.

"This isn't old… this was recently built here. Everything is new," Charizard said in a slow tone.

"Yeah…" Lucas nonchalantly replied. Looking up, he noticed another red "R" on the ceiling. Immediately, he knew where they were. "This is another one of Team Rocket's bases! I'll give them credit, though. This is a pretty discrete location to build a stash hideout."

He picked up one of the pokéballs that he saw earlier, examining it closer. It was a black and white ball with a bold, yellow "H" shape on the top. Turning it over in his hands, he asked what type of a pokéball it was.

"Oh, that's an Ultra Ball! They're pretty rare, and super effective at catching Pokémon," Lily said.

"Sweet!" Lucas exclaimed. He pocketed the ball, and started rummaging for more. Eventually, he had stashed about four of them in his bookbag, along with a few extra Great Balls. He handed some of them to Jack and Lily. Looking around again, he noticed some small crates filled with spray bottles of orange-colored liquid.

"Oh, sick! Super Potions! I remember learning about these in Chemistry class!" Lucas said with a grin.

"What do those do? I've never seen them before." Charizard asked.

"They help to heal injured Pokémon," Lucas replied. "They're almost twice as strong as regular potions, but a quarter as strong as a Hyper Potion." He grabbed about three of them, stuffing them in his bag.

ʘ

Not too long after, the wind outside settled down. Lucas climbed up the ladder, pulled the hatch seal away, and shoved the door open. Stepping outside, he looked around.

The desolate ruins around them looked no different than they had before, oddly. The same amount of sand was piled up along the sides of the walls as it had been before. It was nighttime now, with gleaming stars above them and the Moon showering them in faint light.

"I think we're clear," Lucas said.

However, he spoke too soon. Lucas heard an audible cry of pain from around the corner of a building. After looking at his friends and looking back towards the source of the sound, he dashed over to the building. Rounding the corner, he stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh my god…" Lucas said.

In front of him was a large dragon-bug-looking Pokémon laying on the ground on its side. It was a lime-green color, with a long, striped tail of light and dark green. The tip of its tail had little red feather-like points that appeared solid at a glance. Its wings were large and green with a bold red outline, and were shaped like kites. Around each eye was a red dome of sorts, and two large green horns protruded out the back of its head.

Its short, stubby arms were reaching down toward its thigh, of which both were very thick and connected to two straight feet with no toes, each tipped with a darker green.

Lucas whipped out his Pokédex, aiming it at the creature.

"Flygon, the Desert Dragon Pokémon," it spoke. "Flygon is a ground and dragon type Pokémon found mostly in deserts. Its wings flap so fast that it causes massive sandstorms. Since Flygon burrows in the ground for food and flies through sand, it has developed hard domes around its eyes to protect its vision. To show affection towards something, Flygon will often rub its horns on it."

Lucas put away the Pokédex, examining what the Flygon was trying to grab. He noticed a medium-sized gash on its outer thigh, which was slowly bleeding. Lucas realized that it must have caused the sandstorm, but scraped itself on a wall in the abandoned town.

He jogged over to the Flygon, which was crying in agony. Immediately, it looked at Lucas with terrified eyes and started to slowly crawl away.

"Hey, hey, it's okay," Lucas said softly with a smile. "I promise I'm not going to hurt you."

The Flygon whimpered in a soft yet nervous tone as Lucas knelt down beside it. Gently, Lucas pulled out a potion from his bag.

"This will help to heal you, buddy. Just stay still," Lucas said. He looked behind himself to see Jack, Lily, and Charizard staring at him anxiously.

Lucas rested one hand on the Flygon's waist to keep it still and calm, and used his other hand to slowly spray the potion on its thigh. The Pokémon flinched and yelped in pain, but quickly settled down. Lucas finished applying the potion, and sat down next to the Flygon near its belly. Looking at it, he said, "See? I told you I would help you, pal. There's nothing to worry about now. You should feel better soon, okay?"

The Flygon looked at Lucas with domed, gleaming eyes. Then, it looked at Lucas' open bookbag on the ground. Slowly, it moved its body towards the bag, reaching inside to grab one of Lucas' Ultra Balls with its pointy, three-fingered hands. It proceeded to hold it out to Lucas, giving him a soft moaning noise with a faint smile.

"It's thanking you, Lucas," Charizard translated as Lucas turned around to look at him. "It wants you to catch it."

Lucas looked back at the Flygon, now smiling even more. He stroked the Flygon's long neck, and in turn it reached up to shove the Ultra Ball in his hands.

"Are you sure?" Lucas asked the Pokémon. As a response, the creature smiled and nodded weakly.

Lucas pressed the button on the Ultra Ball, pressing it to the Flygon's head. With a bright flash, the Flygon disappeared into the ball. A few seconds later, Lucas opened the ball, and the Flygon reappeared next to Lucas.

"Thanks, Flygon! Welcome to the gang!" Lucas said. In response, the Flygon brushed up against Lucas' side with the top of its head. Lucas noticed that its green horns were very soft and slightly bendy.

"I think we should rest here for the night," Lucas told the others, still smiling.

"Agreed," Charizard replied. "It'll be good for Flygon, too. He can rest."

Lily and Jack both nodded their heads, even though they didn't understand what Charizard was saying.

After setting up camp, Lucas and Charizard sat by Flygon, who was still laying on the ground. Lucas heard faint snoring coming from the green dragon, and this reassured him that Flygon would be fine in the morning.

"You did a great thing tonight, Lucas. I'm super proud of you," Charizard said.

"Thanks, pal. Honestly, I'm glad we were around to help him. If we hadn't found this town and the shelter, Flygon could have been in some serious trouble," Lucas replied with a grin.

"Come on. Let's get some rest. We need it too," Charizard said with a large yawn. He grabbed Lucas by the waist, giggling and falling to the ground on his back. Turning on his side with Lucas, he curled in closer.

Lucas giggled with Charizard, before letting out a big yawn. He felt Charizard curl around him softly, until his tail flame was mere feet away from his face. It gave off a warm, comforting heat in the cool desert night. Lucas closed his eyes and fell into a deep sleep with his best friend around him.

Chapter 19: Three Days, Pt. I

Morning came too fast for Lucas, unfortunately. He was woken up from a pleasant dream by the morning sun in his eyes, slightly blinding him. Squinting, he slowly got to his feet and peered around.

Almost immediately he remembered Flygon. Groggily walking over towards the Pokémon, he noticed that it was beginning to stir as well. Lucas sat down next to the creature, examining its thigh.

Flygon fully woke up, noticing Lucas next to him. Lucas looked in Flygon's eyes, giving a reassuring smile.

Lucas brushed his hand down Flygon's outer thigh, feeling the slightly large gash. It had healed significantly, and definitely looked better than what it had the night before. Lucas grabbed his bookbag nearby, pulling out the same potion that he had used the night before. It was still halfway full, to his delight.

When Flygon noticed the potion, he tensed up. Lucas stroked his side, which seemed to calm it down some. He sprayed the potion on the wound, which caused Flygon to flinch. However, he quickly got used to the sensation and slowly let out a sigh.

Lucas finished the bottle of potion, tossing it to the side. Then, he spoke.

"How're you doing, buddy? Feeling better?" he asked. The Flygon looked up at Lucas, smiling and giving a soft screech of happiness. Lucas grinned back, and stood up.

"How's Flygon doing?" Charizard asked with a yawn, now on his feet.

"He seems to be doing a lot better," Lucas replied.

"That's always good to hear," Charizard said, beaming.

"Yeah. You know, I'm glad I was able to save him like you saved me when we first met. Remember that?" Lucas said thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I remember that. To be honest, I don't think I'll ever forget it!" Charizard laughed. He then patted Lucas on the shoulder before walking off into the ghost town to do something.

Lucas left Flygon to gather more resources. He walked into the town, finding the same hatch from before. Swinging it open, he climbed down the ladder and turned on the light. He started to look in various supply crates, replacing the one potion he used on Flygon and gathering a roll of medical gauze.

He climbed back up the ladder after shutting off the light. Emerging into the morning light again, he shut the hatch and started to walk back to Flygon. Flygon gave Lucas a quizzical look, seeing what was in his hand.

"You're pretty observant, aren't you?" Lucas asked. "This is just gauze. I'm going to wrap it around your leg so it heals even faster."

Flygon smiled as Lucas sat next to him. Wincing with the slightest pain, the Pokémon lifted its bad leg into the air while it was on its side. Lucas grabbed its foot, keeping it steady and comfortable. Then, he took the gauze and started wrapping it around the thigh.

Flygon relaxed with a deep sigh, letting Lucas slowly wrap the gauze around his thigh. Soon, Lucas finished the wrap of gauze, sealing it. Flygon, in turn, settled his leg back to the ground gently. Looking at Lucas, it gave soft moaning noises and smiled. Charizard rounded the corner again, overhearing Flygon.

"He's saying that he'd like to train with you once he heals, Lucas," Charizard said.

Looking at Flygon, Lucas asked, "How did you know we were out here to train?" After giving more cries, Charizard relayed it to Lucas again.

"He says that Lugia started talking to him through the Premier Ball in a dream," he said. Lucas looked down at Flygon, grinning at the dragon.

"You can train with us tomorrow. If I were you, I'd rest for today. How does that sound, pal?" Lucas asked. In turn, the Flygon gave some tired screeches before resting its head on the ground. After a minute, Lucas heard soft snoring coming from the Pokémon, who was now fast asleep again. Lucas guessed that a side effect of the potion was drowsiness. Smiling with peace, he scratched Flygon behind its horns gently before standing up.

Jack and Lily were now behind Lucas. "How's he doing?" Lily asked.

Turning around, Lucas replied, "He's doing a lot better, gladly. He wants to train with us tomorrow."

"Awesome!" Jack said. "Let's go eat breakfast, and then we'll start."

Everybody ate breakfast in the shade of the ruin walls. After that, Lucas felt a shuddering on his side. Lugia and Mew each popped out of their respective pokéballs, looking at the group.

"Is it time?" Lugia asked.

"Yep! How long should we stay out here?" Lucas replied.

"I believe that the incident in the woods should blow over in at least three days. Do we have enough food?" Lugia said.

"Yeah, we actually have more than enough," Jack replied.

"Excellent! Let's begin. Wait… Mew? Where are you going?" Lugia asked, confused. Indeed, Mew was wandering off through into the ghost town. Lucas, Lugia, and Charizard all followed Mew while Jack and Lily stayed behind.

Feeling along the walls, Mew stopped at the entrance to Team Rocket's hideout. He turned to Lucas, motioning downwards.

"Oh, that? That's one of Team Rocket's stash hideouts. We were lucky enough to find it out here in the desert when the sandstorm rolled through," Lucas said. Mew nodded, and used a psychic ability to open the hatch. Floating down, the Pokémon looked around. Finally, its eyes rested on a metal bolted crate on a top shelf.

Mew pointed to the crate, and motioned for Lucas to open it. Charizard helped to rip out the bolts and crumple the top of the container.

When Lucas looked inside, he didn't know what he was looking at. There were a multitude of black electronic cards. A purple syringe with a needle ejected from each card's side. Every card had data on it, and when Lucas read them, he found out that the data detailed Pokémon attacks.

"Those are Charged Technical Machines, or Charged TMs for short," Lugia said. "Once injected, a Pokémon can instantly learn how to perform the move listed on it, but only if the typing is appropriate. If not, then the Pokémon's immune system will have to kick in to destroy the genes that were inside the syringe."

"Awesome… Thanks for the info. And thank you, Mew, for showing these to me," Lucas said with a wide grin. After digging for a little bit (and being careful not to inject himself in the process), he found a single fire-type card. He read the data out loud.

"The move on here is called 'Blue Flare,' and it's for fire-type Pokémon," Lucas read slowly. "Based on the Pokémon Damage Scale, which ranges from 15 to 250, this move rates at 130. Accuracy is rated at eighty five percent. This attack unleashes a large, hot, blue flame. As an added bonus, this move helps to heat up the attacking Pokémon's body to increase gas production, making the attack last longer… Charizard, which move do you have?"

"I have a charged move called 'Fire Punch.' It's literally what the name implies, and it only has a damage of seventy-five if I recall correctly. However, it has a one hundred percent accuracy," Charizard replied. "I like how that move sounds, though!"

"Yeah, especially after what happened when you fought that Onix," Lucas said. "You want to try it out?"

"Would I!" Charizard exclaimed, almost jumping. He leaned forward and held out his muscular arm for Lucas to inject. Lugia and Mew stood by and watched.

"Are you sure? There's no going back from this, you know," Lucas asked in a serious tone.

"I'm positive, Lucas. I never used Fire Punch because of how weak it is. My Quick Attack is reliable, and my Flamethrower attack is better than Fire Punch. Let's do it," Charizard said.

"Okay," Lucas said with a slight smile. He slowly injected the needle into Charizard's upper arm, pressed the release button on the top of the syringe, and watched as the gene fluid was injected.

Once it was empty, Charizard collapsed.

"Charizard! No!" Lucas cried in horror. The dragon screamed in pain, but his tail flame flared up to a bright blue color. Then, he slowly stood up. Letting out a roar, he shot a bright blue flame out of his mouth that melted part of the metal wall almost immediately.

"I can feel it… I can feel so much power! Ha ha!" he bellowed, tail swinging from side to side. His tail's blue flame had subsided to its normal orange color, but it was a lot bigger than it was before.

"Are you okay?" Lucas asked nervously.

"I feel so alive!" Charizard replied, laughing. "It hurt at first because I wasn't prepared for the reaction, but now I feel awesome!"

"That's incredible!" Lucas cried. He jumped into Charizard's outstretched arms, wrapping his own arms around the dragon's belly.

Lugia and Mew both smiled, and Lugia said, "Congratulations, Charizard. You've learned Blue Flare. It should serve you well."

"Thanks," Charizard replied. Turning to Lucas, he said, "Are you ready to begin our training?"

"I'm ready… let's do this!" Lucas replied, throwing his fist into the air.

Chapter 20: Three Days, Pt. II

After two and a half days, the group had grown stronger as a whole. The desert ruins had been the victim of a multitude of attacks, rendering them almost completely demolished. Any building that had stood before the group arrived was now crumbled and collapsed. Craters littered the desert, and pieces of wood smoldered from various fire-related attacks.

In this scene of chaos, Charizard jumped over a tall yet broken wall. Snarling, he raised his fist in the air, bringing it down on a large portion of a collapsed building. His throat began to glow, before shooting out a large jet of blue fire at an adjacent wall behind him with a roar. He ducked under a low arch, spinning around once he was through to grab its supports. Then, Charizard yanked them out of their foundations, spun around yet again, and smashed them against more "targets." These targets were, of course, imaginary, however the walls and arches made an excellent obstacle course for the Pokémon to practice their moves.

Lugia followed soon after, but on the other side of the town. His colossal form towered over the broken walls, casting a large shadow over them. Rising into the air, he brought his arms back behind his body. Then, with as much force as he could muster, Lugia threw his arms out in a cross in front of him. Immediately, a shockwave rippled through the town, tearing up sand and smashing through already-broken buildings.

Next was Mew. Out of all of Lucas' Pokémon, Mew was the quietest and simplest. The mythical Pokémon simply closed its eyes, before reaching a hand out into the air. This simple motion caused every object in front of him to rise violently into the air, before being smashed into the ground.

Dragonite seemed to prefer simplicity over complexity as well. He also seemed to prefer his Draco Meteor attack over any other form of attack. All he did was simply glow in his eyes, take control of any rock passing by the Earth and slam it into the ground after a short delay. However, he learned how to control where each one landed, which was a huge advantage.

Lastly, there was Flygon. Flygon had healed quite well, and was apparently extremely strong. His signature attack was vibrating his wings rapidly, causing a sort of ripple in the air. This ripple coursed through the town, shaking buildings until they collapsed and causing the other Pokémon's ears to ring painfully if they were in his way.

Lucas stood by and watched, barely giving any orders to perform moves anymore. "Keep it up, guys! Charizard, wipe out that building like it's your mortal enemy! Lugia, show the plaza what you've got! Dragonite and Mew, try double-teaming and combining your attacks. See what you can come up with! Flygon, you're doing epic! Don't stop until every building is turned to dust!" he shouted to all of them encouragingly. Today was their "free day" of training, where they could take out any stress they had on the ruins. It also helped to strengthen their moves at the same time. The other two days had been spent battling each other, finding out their individual weaknesses and strengths.

Jack and Lily had been training as well, but in a different way. Jack and his Pokémon, Bagon, spent time studying steel and dragon-type moves. Surprisingly, Lily didn't use any Pokémon.

"Oh, I don't wish to be a trainer," she replied to Lucas when he asked her why. "I want to study Pokémon medicine and become a breeder, or maybe even a vet! The medical profession always captured my heart."

"Wait, but… why do you have a Pokémon then?" Lucas asked.

"Science. It's nothing special… just a bug-type that I study sometimes. We have a good friendship, but we don't battle," Lily replied. "I hope that, by travelling with you guys, I can learn a lot about different types of Pokémon!"

As the sun finally started to set for the third night, Lugia remained outside of his Premier Ball to speak with Lucas.

"Do we have a plan, Lugia?" Lucas asked.

"I don't know, Lucas. What are your thoughts?" Lugia replied.

"Well, I think we accomplished a lot in these past three days, and I'm super proud of everyone. I just don't know what we should do when we leave the desert," Lucas stated.

"Your destiny is your own, Lucas. I say to follow what you feel is right," the Pokémon replied again in a reassuring tone.

Lucas thought long and hard on this, until his thoughts drifted back in time. Suddenly, he was thinking about his confrontation with his father. He remembered walking out in a daze of despair, and immediately regretted that decision. It wasn't the fact that he let himself be sad that bothered him, rather it was the fact that he gave his father exactly what he wanted.

He knew what he had to do: confront Giovanni again.

"I gave my father exactly what he wanted, Lugia," Lucas said after a minute. "I left his arena in a fog, and he knew it. I think it's time I confront him again." Lugia nodded his head, understanding what Lucas was saying fully.

"That's a courageous decision, you know. Do you think you're prepared to face him?" Lugia asked.

"I feel nothing but anger towards him. Everything he said to me when we reunited… him leaving because he loved me… it was all a lie. He betrayed my family, leaving my mother and I to rot. And to top it all off, he steals Pokémon as the head of Team Rocket. I need to do this to show him that I can't be brought down, and I will always be stronger than him," Lucas said.

"And this time, I'm not going to pass out," Charizard smirked as he rounded the corner of a demolished building. "I'm with you all the way, old friend."

"As are we, Lucas," Jack and Lily stated, emerging from the same spot as Charizard. Lucas smiled, knowing that he had support on all sides from people that cared about him.

Lucas stood up near the fire he had made while talking to Lugia. "It's settled, then! Tomorrow, we set off for Viridian City one last time," he said. "Let's get some rest."

As the hours passed, the others eventually fell asleep. Charizard and Lucas were the only ones awake, quietly whispering to one another.

"These past few days have been pretty exciting, you know?" the dragon whispered.

"Yeah," Lucas replied. "You were awesome. Honestly, I didn't know you could jump so high with such short legs." To this, Charizard chuckled. Lucas continued, saying, "And dear god, you're strong. I saw how you ripped that arch off of its foundation. You really got into a rhythm, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I did. I tend to hyper-focus on stuff like that sometimes. And as for being strong, well… what can I say?" Charizard replied with a grin.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Lucas asked.

"Definitely. Whatever Giovanni throws at you, I'll be by your side," Charizard whispered with confidence.

Curling up under the desert stars, Charizard and Lucas fell into a much-needed sleep.

Chapter 21: Old, Gone Friends

The next day at noon, the group finally left the Kanto-Johto Desert. Charizard walked alongside Lucas, with Flygon on his other side. Flygon did not seem to mind leaving the desert with Lucas, and actually seemed to be excited.

Lucas looked at his map on his Pokédex. They had only a few more miles until Pewter City, and then another two hours until they reached Viridian City. In just a mile, there was a fork in the road that Lucas recognized as a route to Pallet Town.

Pretty soon, they were upon the fork. Looking off in the woods between the roads, Lucas noticed another trio of travelers. They seemed awfully familiar to Lucas, for some odd reason.

It was only until they got nearer did Lucas recognize them. He made out the figures of Ash, Misty, and Brock, whom he had met the first day of his journey. At the same time, they saw Lucas.

"Lucas? Is that you?" Ash yelled.

"Ash? Ash Ketchum? Hey!" Lucas shouted back.

"Oh my god, hey! I wasn't expecting to see you out here. I thought you were long gone!" Ash said when they caught up to each other.

"How're you holding up, Lucas?" Misty asked, now beside Ash.

"Not too shabby, actually!" Lucas replied.

"Lucas, do you know these guys?" Jack and Lily asked.

"Yeah, I do! This is Ash, Misty, and Brock," Lucas replied, pointing to each one respectively. "They're the trio I met on my first day. Misty here gave me this Pokédex! She's one of the leaders from the Cerulean City Gym, and Brock is the leader of the Pewter City Gym."

They both nodded. Lucas introduced them to Jack and Lily as they walked along the path.

"So, how's the journey been for you guys? Where are you off to next?" Brock asked.

"A lot of stuff has happened. Too much, actually, however I'd rather have that than not enough," Lucas responded. "We're headed off to Viridian City. I have… stuff to do there."

"Well, we're headed there to get supplies. What type of stuff are you guys doing?" Ash asked.

Lucas didn't see any point in trying to cover up what he was doing. Losing his smile, he said, "I'm going to battle my father in the gym."

"That's cool! Just training with him?" Brock asked.

"Not exactly. This'll sound nuts, but the gym leader, Giovanni, is actually my father," Lucas replied.

"No way! Are you serious?" Misty exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm completely serious," Lucas said. "He betrayed and left my family years ago, only to become a gym leader. I found him, like, four days ago after three years."

"Jesus! That's insane!" Ash said. "Well, I want to see this battle unfold. You'll see us in the stands!"

"Yeah, we'll be cheering you on all the way," Brock added. Ash's Pikachu, which had been playing with Charizard, started jumping in the air in support.

"I guess you could say you're 'going to town' with your father, right?" Ash said with a grin. The others laughed hysterically at the pun, and continued on the journey.

ʘ

The large group eventually sauntered into Viridian City. With a quick look around, Ash and his friends said, "We'll meet you at the gym, Lucas. You'll find us in the stands. We have to make a supply run, so take your time getting ready."

"Got it. We'll start heading over," Lucas responded, resolve strong in his voice.

The group started to head over towards the gym. As they got closer, the streets started getting quieter and quieter. Eventually, everybody stopped what they were doing, looking at Lucas, Charizard, and his friends. Lucas could feel eyes burning into him from every direction, see fingers pointing towards him, and hear whispers stating "Dude, that's the kid, there!" and "Hey, he's the one with the legendary Pokémon!"

After walking for another five or so minutes, a silent crowd gathered behind Lucas. Anyone who was in front of him just stared at him passing by, and then joined the ever-increasing mass of people following him.

All the while, Lucas grew angrier and angrier. Thoughts of Giovanni abandoning his own family rolled through Lucas' brain, drowning out all outside noises. Charizard looked at Lucas with a determined face that told him to keep going and not look back.

The Viridian City Gym finally came into view. Lucas clenched his fists tightly, eyes crossed and on fire. He noticed Ash, Misty, and Brock on the streets, gazing at the crowd with confused faces. Eventually, they started following in silence as well.

He stopped at the door to the gym, breathing heavily not in fright, but in rage. Jack and Lily looked at him on one side, while Charizard did the same on his other side. The crowd stopped behind him, with Ash and his friends now at the head of the mass, looking at him.

As if to push him forward, Lucas' brain flashed back to the previous battle. He remembered Giovanni betraying him in his office, and abandoning all love for his son after the battle was over. Going back further, he remembered crying for his father as he left their old house, grabbing his suit coat to prevent him from leaving but being powerless to stop him.

Looking back on it now, he realized that Giovanni never batted an eye to Lucas as he left. He left for Team Rocket, not for his son's dreams. And in doing so, he indirectly destroyed everything Lucas loved. If his father never left, he'd still have the rest of his family and his house.

Taking in a deep breath, rage filling his body, he kicked open the gym doors as hard as he could. "GIOVANNI!" he screamed.

Giovanni almost jumped out of his chair from across the arena. Leaning out of his chair, he gaped at his son. Lucas glared back in anger, his face red with heated blood.

The crowd that had been behind Lucas filtered into the gym on both sides of him, seating themselves in the stands uniformly. Jack, Lily, Ash, Misty, and Brock sat close to Lucas' part of the arena, but separate from each other.

"Ah, Lucas," Giovanni said in a disturbingly calm tone, "So nice of you to drop by. I've been expecting you, son."

"I'm here for that rematch, remember? Well, you wanted it, and now you have it!" Lucas yelled back in defiance. "It's time I show you that you can't hold me down any longer!"

Giovanni slowly stood up from his chair, walking down the stairs to his spot on the arena floor.

"I applaud your bravery, Lucas, but you've gotten one thing wrong," his father said in a menacing voice, glaring at him blankly. "I will always control you." Giovanni slowly pulled out a Great Ball, ready to throw.

"I AM NO SON OF YOURS ANYMORE, GIOVANNI! AND YOU WILL NEVER WIN!" he screamed in rage. Charizard stood behind Lucas, snarling and growling deeply. Lucas whipped out his only Ultra Ball, standing in a defiant pose. "THIS IS FOR MY MOTHER, MY HOME, AND EVERYTHING YOU HELPED TO DESTROY!"

Chapter 22: The Final Battle

Lucas threw his Ultra Ball with all his might. Flygon popped out of the ball, wings flapping rapidly in the still air. He looked back at Lucas, and then back at Giovanni. Screeching, Flygon took an attack pose.

In turn, Giovanni tossed his Great Ball into the air. When it burst open, a large, horned creature appeared. It had a long tail, a striped-white underbelly, and short legs. Armor-like plates covered its upper chest and arms, and a large horn protruded between its eyes. Lucas pulled out his Pokédex from his back pocket, aiming it at the beast.

"Rhydon, the Drill Pokémon," it beeped out. "Rydon's horn can slice through diamonds easily, and its tail is strong enough to demolish buildings. Rydon's hide armor is so tough that cannon balls won't leave a scratch."

Lucas crossed his eyes, formulating a plan. Giovanni, however, interrupted his thought process.

"Rhydon, use Mud Slap!" Giovanni shouted. Immediately, Rhydon dug its hands into the dirt, ripping out chunks of rock and earth, As hard as it could, it chucked them towards Flygon with pinpoint accuracy.

"Flygon, dodge it fast!" Lucas shouted. Flygon quickly fluttered to the side, barely missing the hail of dirt and stone. "Now, use Dragon Rage!" Dragon Rage, Lucas learned, turned out to be the attack that Flygon used to vibrate the air around it.

Flygon flew into the air, well beyond the reach of Giovanni's Rhydon. He then started to flap his wings faster and faster, until they were a blur surrounding his body. A faint hum filled the air that grew louder and louder with each passing second.

Eventually, the vibrations became too much for the Rhydon to bear, and it collapsed to the ground clutching its ears and screaming. The crowd was in a frenzy, too; the glass in front of the stands to protect spectators began to vibrate heavily and crack in spots. Giovanni started to yell in pain too, as his eardrums struggled to process the rapid vibrations.

Eventually, Flygon stopped and settled down to the ground. The Rydon across from him slowly stood up, one eye closed due to a pain in its ear.

"Okay, Rhydon," Giovanni gasped, "Use Rock Throw!"

The Rydon could barely move before Lucas shouted, "Flygon, use a Quick Attack!" Just as Giovanni's Pokémon extracted a large rock, Flygon darted towards it faster than a speeding bullet. It rammed into the beast, sending it hurling towards the back wall (Which was still under repair due to Lugia's Aeroblast attack). With a quick, sharp crack, Rhydon hit the wall.

The Rydon then landed on the ground with a thud, knocked out.

A referee stumbled into the arena, still putting on his black and white shirt. Taking a quick glance at the battle, he made his on-the-spot decision in an out of breath voice, "Rhydon is unable to battle! Flygon wins… wait, what round is it? One?" The crowd silently nodded. The referee continued, "Round One? Okay… Flygon wins round one! Proceed to Round Two. Battlers, assume positions!"

Giovanni returned Rydon to its Great Ball, as Lucas did the same with Flygon. Lucas looked at Charizard, who looked back at him with crossed eyes. They each nodded to each other, and Charizard stepped in front of Lucas to assume position.

"Just like before?" Charizard asked, turning around.

"Just like before. Let's finish this, Charizard!" Lucas shouted. Charizard swiveled around, his tail burning brightly. He slammed his foot down as he flared his wings, shooting a jet of blue-hot fire out of his mouth. The crowd, who was silent until the end of the previous round, started cheering.

Giovanni threw out a regular pokéball. It revealed a large, blue and black crow with red and blue wings. Its tail was a flared cone, and it appeared to have a witch's hat on. Its chest was covered in white feathers.

One last time, Lucas pulled out his Pokédex.

"Honchkrow, the Big Boss Pokémon. Honchkrow is known as the 'Summoner of Night,' because if one utters a deep cry, many of its pre-evolution, Murkrow, will gather around. Honchkrow spends much of its time at its nest cleaning its feathers," it said.

Again, Giovanni took the first move.

"Honchkrow, use Bite!" he shouted. The black bird darted towards Charizard with blinding speed, beak wide open. Charizard didn't have time to move out of the way fast enough, and the Honchkrow slammed into him. It chomped down on his arm with jaws that reacted like coiled springs.

Charizard screamed in pain, trying to shake the large bird off of him. Giovanni was snickering on the other side of the arena.

"Don't let go, Honchkrow!" he shouted.

However, that didn't deter Charizard. Regaining a straight face through the agonizing pain, he pried the beak open and ripped the bird away. In a fit of anger, he grabbed the bird's cone-like tail, spun around, and threw it against the side wall. With a thud, the Honchkrow slammed against the brick and fell to the ground.

"Just like we practiced, Charizard! Show 'em what we've got!" Lucas roared.

Charizard jumped high into the air, muscular arm raised with a fist and one knee up to steer him. He slammed down to the ground on top of the Honchkrow, smashing it. The crow bit into his leg weakly, but Charizard didn't care. He ripped it off, and slammed it against the wall. Then, he tossed the weak bird to the center of the arena.

"Okay, Charizard, now use Blue Flare!" Lucas shouted with a smile.

Charizard grinned. He had been waiting for this moment. He jumped into the air, landing a few meters away from the downed Honchkrow. The bird stood up feebly, cawing in a terrified voice. However, Charizard ignored it, and with a roar, he slammed his foot down and shot out a massive burst of blue fire at the Pokémon. The force of the fire was so strong that it blew the Honchkrow back.

The bird skidded to a stop on the dirt in front of Giovanni, who was looking on in shock. His eyes were wide open, mouth agape. Honchkrow lay unconscious, its feathers still smoking from the heat.

"Honchkrow is unable to battle, making Lucas the winner of today's tournament! Congratulations, Lucas!" the referee shouted.

Charizard and Lucas ran towards each other before jumping into a big hug. The massive crowd went ecstatic with woops and cheers, and Jack, Lily, Ash, Misty, and Brock started chanting "Lu-cas! Lu-cas! Lu-cas!" over and over again.

Eventually, the crowd went silent. Giovanni had collapsed to his knees, and Lucas broke away from Charizard. He looked at Giovanni, who looked back at his son with sad eyes.

"See, Giovanni?" Lucas said smugly, "You don't control me. Today, I returned to show you that you can't break my spirit. And I also returned to let my mother rest easily, which is something you never cared about when you left her and I."

He turned around and walked towards the exit, Charizard beside him. His friends in the stands scrambled out of their seats to catch up. Not looking back at his father, he left the gym and started walking down the now-empty street.

Chapter 23: Farewell, Old Life

Viridian City's streets were completely empty; everyone was still inside the gym. Lucas walked slowly down the streets, hands in his pockets and a smile on his face. Charizard walked beside him, hand on Lucas's shoulder.

"You did great, Lucas," Charizard said, breaking the silence.

"Are you kidding me? You were epic!" Lucas responded happily.

"I'm proud of you, though. You faced your father and left with closure," the dragon stated.

"I guess you're right. Thanks," Lucas replied. He grinned, looking up at the afternoon sky.

A newspaper fluttered down from a nearby window, landing in front of Lucas' feet. He picked it up as Jack, Lily, and the others caught up to him.

"That was incredible!" Ash said. "You were so brave!"

"Thanks!" Lucas said. They talked about battle highlights for a few minutes, before the conversation shifted.

"Well, Lucas… I guess it's time my friends and I leave. We're headed for the nearest gym city," Ash said in a sad voice.

"Yeah, same," Lucas responded, "My friends and I have a journey too. I guess I'll see you guys later?"

"Definitely," Misty and Brock said in unison. After another minute of farewells, they disappeared into the city. Lucas looked down at the newspaper in his hand after a minute, reading it.

"Hey, this is cool!" Lucas said to the others.

"What does it say?" Charizard said.

"It reads: 'Massive Chemical Outbreak in Rhyme City Solved by Detective.' A twenty-one-year-old detective, Tim Goodman, and his Pikachu partner solved the case of a massive chemical outbreak. The chemical, known as 'R', made Pokémon who ate it, smelled it, or drank it go berserk and attack anything around them," he read. "Dear god, that's awful! Okay… It was developed in a secret genetics lab, made from the cells of Mewtwo, an artificial Pokémon created from the lost cells of the ancient Mew. The chemical worked by activating the Berserk gene from Mewtwo, which altered chemical balances inside the brain.

"When asked about the outbreak, Goodman said, 'If I never found my father's Pokémon partner here, Pikachu, we wouldn't have solved this mystery. Thankfully, we contained it before it spread outside the city."

Lucas finished reading the article, looking up at the others. "I've never heard of Rhyme City. Where is it?" he asked.

"Oh, Rhyme City is in the Sinnoh Region, and was created so people and Pokémon can live together in peace. There's, like, no battling, no trainers, no pokéballs… it's incredible!" Lily said.

"That sounds cool!" Lucas said. He looked at Charizard, who was reading the article over Lucas' shoulder.

"We should go there one day, pal," Lucas told him.

"That's not a bad idea… however, it's really, really far away," Charizard said. "Sinnoh is the northernmost region."

"Well, I'd still do it. It sounds like a nice place… minus the chemicals, of course," Lucas replied.

The others laughed at Lucas' remark, and continued walking down the empty streets of Viridian City. Lucas had a multitude of things to think about, and now was the perfect time.

He thought about his family, first. In a matter of three weeks, he had lost his whole family. He had no relatives anywhere, so he was truly on his own. Of course, he had Jack, Lily, and Charizard by his side. Especially Charizard…

However, that didn't change the fact that everything else was gone. _Well, almost everything_, he thought. Lucas realized that Silver, his long-lost brother, was still out there somewhere. He wondered if Silver even knew he existed. _Probably not. He left before I was born, and I've never had contact, _he responded to himself.

He resolved himself to the fact that he truly did have a new family that cared for him even more than his old one. This thought made him smile as he walked. He realized that he was feeling something he had never felt before: Freedom.

As Lucas continued to think, the trio and dragon rounded a corner towards the gates of the city. Lucas never looked back once to see if his father was watching him, and he didn't care even if he was. As they walked out of Viridian City, Charizard put a clawed hand on Lucas' shoulder, giving him a wide smile. Lucas looked back at him and grinned just as wide as Charizard was, before looking forward again.

The gang walked through the gates of the city, leaving the empty streets of Lucas' past life behind.

Chapter 24: Beneath the Stars

The group had arrived at a cliff, miles away from Viridian City. It was nighttime; the group had been walking for hours, not sure where they were really going, and they needed a place to rest.

The cliff's view was incredible. Over the ledge, trees and rivers extended as far as the eye could see. Faintly, in the distance, there was a black haze of tall mountains. The moon was nowhere to be found in the sky, so the stars appeared brighter than ever.

This scene greeted Lucas with a sense of beauty, who was sitting on the edge of the cliff looking out. It was another one of the nights where Jack and Lily were already asleep.

Lucas had let out all of his Pokémon to celebrate his victory with him hours ago. They were all fast asleep now, however. Lugia was resting near the fire, with Mew hovering above the ground not too far away. Dragonite and Flygon (whom appeared to have become good friends) were sleeping next to each other, and Lapras was floating in a nearby pond.

Charizard was sitting next to Lucas, wings folded up neatly and tail burning bright. He was staring out into the unknown just as Lucas was.

"I can't believe it, Lucas," Charizard said.

"Me neither, old friend," Lucas responded.

"You know, Lucas… you've grown a lot. I remember when I rescued you, you didn't have any idea if you could become a worthy trainer. Now, look at all you've accomplished," the dragon said. "You've captured a legendary Pokémon, a mythical Pokémon, and you've beaten your father… all in three weeks. I've never seen anyone with as much dedication as you."

Lucas chuckled. "Yeah, you're right," he said. "A lot has happened in the past three weeks. However, I kind of feel as if this is only the beginning of the journey."

Charizard nodded his head, understanding what Lucas was saying completely. "I think you're right. I don't think we've even finished chapter one of our journey," he said.

"Yeah… but what comes next?" Lucas asked.

"Whatever the world throws at us, Lucas," Charizard replied. After a couple more minutes of staring at the dotted sky, Lucas pulled out the picture the strange boy had given him. He still didn't understand anything that happened in that forest, and as he looked at the drawing, he realized that he probably never would.

The duo curled up to go to sleep like they always did. Suddenly, Lucas felt afraid, and he knew why.

"Charizard?" he asked in a strained voice.

"Yeah?" Charizard asked.

"I'm afraid, buddy," Lucas said.

"Why? I'm right here. Nothing's going to happen," the dragon responded.

"I'm afraid to go to sleep. Sometimes, I fear that… that I'll wake up in the morning and you'll be gone. That you're only a dream, that all of this is a dream," he explained.

"That's not going to happen, and you and I both know that. I will always be here when you wake up. I promise," Charizard said.

"Thank you, Charizard," Lucas said in a quiet voice. He curled into Charizard's warm belly even more, who in turn wrapped his arms around Lucas tighter.

They laid there for a few more minutes until they became drowsy. Charizard yawned, closed his eyes, and almost immediately fell asleep.

Lucas thought about his best friend, and how he'd always be there for him. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep beneath the stars to the sight of Charizard's fire, the symbol of an inseparable bond that could never be broken.

Epilogue: I Won't Leave

Lucas had completed his mission, but the mysterious boy from the path knew that Lucas' journey was far from over. For so long, he had watched Lucas' quest to become a Pokémon trainer. It was everything he had imagined, actually. Seeing a reflection of himself become something great filled him with joy.

The boy stood on the edge of a lake, staring at the stars. He was so glad to see Lucas with Charizard, and the unbreakable bond between them that had formed. However, something was missing… his own friend. For so long, he had been searching for his Pokémon partner, and the only thing driving him forward was the fact that he was still out there, somewhere.

The strange kid saw another trainer running towards him with his Pokémon, but they didn't slow down. Instead, they ran straight through him, oblivious to the fact that he even existed. Lucas and Charizard, near the cliff, didn't seem to notice this silent trainer.

_That's all I am… a ghost. But not to Lucas, no. Or Charizard… where are you, old friend? _he thought to himself as he watched the trainer run into the woods. _ It's been so long… I just wish I could find you._

He put his hands back into his pockets and started to walk off again. Before long, he reached a cliff. On this cliff, Charizard and Lucas were sitting and talking. The boy smiled as he watched the duo curl up together to go to sleep, imagining himself doing the same with his own friend.

He turned and walked away. Soon, however, he saw a light in the distance. It grew closer, and seemed to dance around. Some sort of… fire, it looked like. The boy felt something strange, like a part of him was being filled by looking at this light.

He saw a figure's head moving around, before it stopped on the other end of the lake's clearing and looked at him. Then, the boy knew what he was seeing.

"Charizard…" he said with wide eyes.

The boy started to walk towards the beast, as did the dragon towards him. Pretty soon, they were running at each other.

"Charizard!" the boy cried. In response, the dragon screamed the kid's name. Both of them tripped over the landscape, not taking their eyes off of one another, and not caring whether or not they got dirty from tripping.

Pretty soon they were upon one another, and the boy jumped into Charizard's open arms. "It's been too long… please don't leave me again, Charizard…" he said.

"I never left, pal. And I never will. I promise," Charizard replied with closed eyes. The boy started sobbing, but not in sadness as before. Instead, these were tears of joy. He had finally reunited with the one friend who promised to find him again one day.

For the longest time, the new duo stood there with arms wrapped around one another, the boy and dragon sobbing together. After five minutes, the boy wiped away his tears.

"Let's go, old friend. Together," he said.

"Together," Charizard replied.

The duo started to walk over to the lake, Charizard's arms wrapped around the kid's shoulders. Smiling, the kid looked at the dragon.

They walked over the water, slowly turning to mist in the light of the stars.

To Be Continued…

Reference Table of Pokémon Mentioned

Charizard Lugia

Mew Flygon

Lapras Dragonair

Dragonite Bagon

Salamence Onix

Pikachu Raichu

Gyarados Persian

98


End file.
